


Prisoner

by GemNika



Category: Bleach, Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Crossover, Dark Past, Depression, F/M, Fairy Tail Characters in Bleach Universe, Fluff and Humor, Morning Cuddles, Older Man/Younger Woman, Past Character Death, Past Child Abuse, Past Torture, Picnics, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Siblings, Romance, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 13:00:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 62,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13590567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemNika/pseuds/GemNika
Summary: When Captain Ukitake doesn't bounce back from his illness, Kyouraku decides he'll do anything to save his best friend. Even if it means having a prisoner released from Muken. No one knows who she is, but the rumors of her healing ability that rivals Orihime's has piqued his interest.





	1. Prisoner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll tell you right now that the use of Lucy from Fairy Tail is simply because I can't control myself. I love pairing her with people. This was originally a Kenpachi/OC story, but I decided that Kyouraku/Lucy is just… So much yes. I hope you all enjoy it!
> 
> Just like with my other crossover, I'll apologize now for any OoC-ness on the part of the Bleach characters, since I'm still trying to find their voices in my head. Let's just call this an AU of sorts… Set in the Bleach-verse.

 

It was just barely Spring, and Shunsui let out a quiet sigh as he sat under the newly blossomed sakura trees that dotted the grounds. Just beside him, with an umbrella shading his pale, nearly lifeless body from the few modest rays of sunlight shining down on them, was his best friend, Jushiro Ukitake. Hardly conscious for more than a few minutes, and under strict orders to get fresh air, regardless of whether he was awake to enjoy it.

"Blossoms are looking mighty fine this year," Shunsui mused, tipping his cup back slightly to sip at the sweet sake held within it. "Right, Jushiro?"

There was no response aside from the shallow breaths the white-haired captain took.

"You're not getting better," Shunsui whispered, looking from his old friend to the sky. "What am I gonna do with you?"

The whole winter and a good portion of the fall, Jushiro had been bedridden. Whatever was making him ill, whether it was allergies or something else, no one seemed to be able to pinpoint. Captain Unohana had even taken over his care, personally seeing the sickly captain at least once a day to check on him. She didn't have a clue as to what was doing this, but all she had been able to say with any certainty was that he wasn't bouncing back like he usually did.

As if Shunsui had needed her to tell him that. He could see for himself in the way Jushiro's cheeks had hollowed out a little more. Or the fact that he hadn't seen those deep brown eyes, so soulful and caring, in nearly a month. Whenever Jushiro was conscious, his eyes still wouldn't open. He would speak though, or mumble, really.

"We've been together a long time," Shunsui sighed, taking the last few sips of his sake in one pull. "There's just  _gotta_  be something we haven't thought of yet."

He knew there had to be something that could be done. Hell, he'd even considered asking that sweet little orange-haired beauty that hung around Ichigo for help. Except, Rukia had beaten him to the punch on that one. Orihime didn't have clearance to come to the Soul Society, even if she had the ability to heal Jushiro. At least, he thought she would. Which meant they needed to get creative. Something had to give, because Shunsui just wasn't ready to let his oldest friend go so soon.

"Captain Kyouraku, I'm sorry to interrupt," Nanao whispered, kneeling several feet from Shunsui and lifting her head from a bow. "But a hell butterfly has come for you. From Research and Development."

Shunsui tipped his hat back while looking over his shoulder, a lazy smirk pulling up the corners of his mouth. "Ah, my Nanao-chan. You're more than welcome to join us. Let loose for a little bit."

She sighed, closing her eyes for a moment in agitation. "No, sir. I don't drink alcohol during work hours, and neither should you."

He shrugged, leaning back on one hand while the other lifted for the little black and purple butterfly to perch on his finger.

" _Captain Kyouraku. It's Akon, from Twelfth. I think I may have found something that could help you in what you were asking me about last week. It's risky, but if you can make it work, then this could be Captain Ukitake's best shot. Come by as soon as possible. You owe me for this..."_

Shunsui sighed and looked down at Jushiro again. He'd almost forgotten talking to the strange third seat under Mayuri the week before. Then again, he'd been a little more intoxicated than usual, and was trying everything he could think of to get his friend back on his feet. Hopefully, for good.

"Nanao-chan," Shunsui whispered, giving the lazily floating clouds a lingering stare before standing up. "Make sure he gets inside soon, alright? I've got something to handle."

Nanao nodded, her eyes softening sadly when her captain walked away without another word. Ever since Captain Ukitake had fallen ill again in the fall, her own captain just hadn't been the same. The teasing, overly flirtatious nature of his that she'd grown accustomed to had been abandoned for the most part. She could see that he still made an effort to do it, to keep things relatively normal, but that's all it was for him. An effort. "We'll find a way to help you Captain Ukitake," she whispered, bringing a cool cloth to his forehead to blot away his sweat. "Captain Kyouraku is stubborn when he needs to be."

* * *

"This had better be good," Shunsui said as he handed Akon a bottle of his own personal stash of sake, one of his favorites. He raised a brow as a folded piece of paper, a printout from what he could tell, was slipped into his hand. "Love notes?" he chuckled, looking back to the shinigami as the man put out his cigarette and lit another right away. "So sweet, Akon."

"Very funny. That's what I called you here for," Akon replied flatly while gesturing to the folded page. "There's a prisoner that's rumored to have a strange ability to heal people. I couldn't gain access to anything in the file, because it's all locked up tighter than…"

"No analogies right now," Shunsui said with a frown. "What am I looking at?"

"All the information that I  _could_  pull out about Prisoner UL24SP." Akon leaned over slightly, letting his finger trail over the page while he explained what the Captain was looking at.

 _Prison ID:_ UL24SP  
_Location:_ Central Great Underground Prison  
_Level:_  8, Muken  
_Basis of Conviction:_ Murder  
_Previous Occupation:_  Shin'o Academy  
_Previous Affiliation:_  Classified  
_Name:_  Classified  
_Age:_ Classified  
_Gender:_  Classified  
_Sentence:_ 3,000 years. Probation to lower level pending completion of first millennium of sentence.  
_Notes:_  Do not allow physical contact. Unidentified healing capabilities; warrants research, pending approval. No zanpakuto present for confiscation.

"Apparently," Akon sighed, "Whoever this person is, they caught Captain Kurotsuchi's attention. It's the only reason I saw it in the first place."

"Which helps explain why you wanted me here so fast," Shunsui nodded. "But, Muken? Really, you think I'll be able to even get  _close_  to someone locked away in that place?"

"I obviously don't have all the details here, but what I was able to pull out didn't seem to add up. There were some psychological notes that I couldn't replicate to show you, but it seems this person is sane. I don't know why he was sentenced to Muken for murder, considering there are quite a few shinigami that are just put in the Maggot's Nest for worse than that, but that's really not important."

"It could be," Shunsui mused.

"Regardless, this guy has some sort of ability to heal people," Akon continued with a roll of his eyes.

"And what makes you think he'll do any better than Captain Unohana can?"

"Because you know just as well as I do that Captain Kurotsuchi wouldn't waste his time on a  _normal_  healer. If it was kido, he wouldn't care in the slightest. But, this is something else..." Akon stiffened when there were heavy footsteps that he recognized all too well coming closer to the back door. "I'll be able to stall the approval of the request for a couple days," he said quickly. "You've got two days, tops. If Kurotsuchi gets his hands on that guy…"

"Yeah," Shunsui nodded quickly. "Got it. Anything else I should know?"

Akon paused for a moment, taking one last drag of his cigarette before putting it out. "This guy's been locked up for about three hundred years, so… There's that." His eyes cut to the open doorway off to his side when he heard Captain Kurotsuchi's voice. "I've gotta go. Two days."

Shunsui nodded, frowning as he made his way through the Seireitei. How he would go about getting to this person in Muken was beyond him, but there was always one place he could go when he was out of ideas and needed someone to talk to. Down one corridor, then another, he let out a quiet sigh once he was standing before the large doors marked with the crest of Squad 1. Once he was granted entry, Shunsui made his way into the room and stood before Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

"What is it, Captain Kyouraku?"

He sighed and removed his straw hat, then gave the older man a pleading look. "I, uh… I need some advice, Yama-jii."

Genryusai's eyes peeked open a little more than usual, his face a stoic mask while he took in Shunsui's posture. After several moments in silence, he let out a slow breath and nodded to his lieutenant, letting the silver-haired man know that they would need a few minutes of privacy. As soon as Sasakibe was out of the room, he stood from his desk and motioned for Shunsui to follow him to the balcony overlooking the Seireitei.

Shunsui stood in silence for several minutes, wondering if he should be the first one to speak. Even after all this time, he still had a hard time reading the old man next to him.

"This is about Jushiro," Genryusai mused, his voice solemn.

Shunsui nodded. "There's nothing more Captain Unohana can do," he whispered. "And I know you already said no to Orihime coming-"

"And my answer stands," Genryusai sighed. "While we have an ally in that human girl, we cannot abuse the power that she holds simply to prolong the life of a friend. Shunsui, it might be time to just accept that this is the way things are."

Shunsui scowled and forced his hands to stay still instead of reaching for the printout that he'd tucked into his top. "I know we can't just let humans come and go here. I get that, Yama-jii. I was just bringing her up as a point, not asking you to let her come."

"I see," Genryusai nodded.

"I just… There might be a way to help him." Shunsui paused and wiped a hand over his face, feeling the exhaustion he'd been fighting back bearing down on him once more. He hadn't really been able to sleep all that well, knowing that he could wake up and Jushiro would be gone. "But there's a problem, or a bunch of 'em, and I can't tell if I should even put the effort in to try. It might be too late… And I don't think I can cope with getting my hopes up over this, only to have it fail and lose him..."

There was a long moment of silence that filled the air around the two shinigami captains, and Genryusai eventually turned his head to fully look at Shunsui. "Tell me."

Shunsui sighed again and finally pulled the printout from his top, handing it over to the older man. "There's a prisoner in Muken with some healing ability that Captain Kurotsuchi is interested in researching. I don't know what it is, or anything else, but-"

Genryusai frowned while looking at the few details on the page. "Prisoner UL24SP… Is that…" He looked back to Shunsui, his brow pinched. "Where did you get this information?"

"I, uh… I really shouldn't say, Yama-jii," Shunsui said, shifting uncomfortably. "I just know that this guy has been locked up for a few hundred years, and I was told that Mayuri will be pulling him out to do tests…"

"And, what are you considering doing?" Genryusai asked.

"That's the rub. I want help for Jushiro, and if this prisoner is the one that can do it, then I'm all for it. I just don't know if I'll be able to get to him in time." When the old man was silent again, Shunsui resigned himself to failure. Or, at least disapproval. He could talk his way out of most things - or into them, when the need arose - but pullinga murderer out of Muken? Just so he could get Jushiro the help he needed?  _'I doubt Central 46 would go for that…'_

"Would you be willing to do anything?" Genryusai asked. "For the sake of Captain Ukitake, how far would you go? Central 46 does not send people to Muken for trivial things, Shunsui."

It didn't take any time for him to come up with his answer though. "I'd do anything to save him, Yama-jii. He's my best friend. I would go to Hell and back for him."

A fond, rarely seen, smile twitched at the older man's aged, wrinkled lips. "Then," he said softly, "I think you have your answer. I would suggest exercising great caution, however, if you are successful in gaining custody of this particular prisoner."

And that was all Shunsui had needed to hear. Just that small bit of approval, veiled in sage words from the old man. He could do this. If it was for Jushiro, he would find a way to move heaven and earth. He grinned over at Genryusai, taking the paper back and tucking it into his top once more. "Thanks," he chuckled. "I've only got a couple days to figure it out, but… I'll think of something."

"Yes, that may prove to be a little more difficult than firming your resolve," Genryusai smirked.

Shunsui hummed in thought, then frowned as he looked to the old man again. "I was told this guy was locked up about three hundred years ago."

"Yes."

"But, if someone was crazy enough to get sent down to Muken, wouldn't the captains have been told about it?"

"Ah, I was wondering if you would bring that up," the older man replied. "This one… is a classified case, Shunsui. Only myself, Central 46, and few others know about this."

"Why, though… If you can say, that is…"

"Not many wanted the news that a student from the Academy was being sent there," Genryusai sighed. "And the family also asked for discretion. Because of certain circumstances, Central 46 and myself decided to keep it quiet."

"So, you can't really say," Shunsui smirked.

"No, not really."

"Think I could get your support for the petition to Central 46?"

"Do you think it would help?"

"Couldn't hurt," Shunsui countered. "I already know that if it was as simple as you pardoning this guy, you'd do it to help Jushiro. But… Since he's in Muken…"

"Yes, you would need a majority vote from Central 46 as well…" After another quiet moment, Genryusai nodded. "I will make a statement for you, Shunsui. I hope you know what you are doing."

"I do, Yama-jii," Shunsui sighed with a small smile. "I'm gonna go see Jushiro again. Maybe I'll think of something that'll really convince them to allow this."

"I hope you do." Genryusai watched in silence as Shunsui made his way out of the room, the flower-printed kimono he wore over his haori flowing slightly as he walked away. After a moment, once Sasakibe had returned and closed the door behind him, Genryusai went and sat down at his desk again, pulling out a sheaf of papers to start scribing his recommendation for Central 46.

"Eijisai-dono," Sasakibe said, bowing respectfully. "You look... Off..."

"Yes. It seems Captain Kyouraku is looking to get himself into a spot of trouble."

"Trouble?"

Genryusai set his pen down, frowning at the blank page before him. "Do you remember," he whispered. "Three hundred years ago… the one that was sent to Muken?"

Sasakibe's eyes widened slightly. "Y-Yes… What does she have to do with this?"

"Captain Kyouraku is hoping to remove her from prison, to help Captain Ukitake."

"Does he know, though? Who she is?"

"No," Genryusai sighed, shaking his head. "He thinks she's a man."

"And you did not tell him…"

"It is not my place to say anything about her. That information is classified, Lieutenant Sasakibe."

"He should know though, don't you think? If he's really going to get  _her_  released…"

Genryusai shook his head in resignation. "What I think, and the orders that I must follow, are sometimes two different things. Still, as long as he follows the laws set forth for us, he will have my support in this."

"But, she's a murderer. What she did… Does she really deserve freedom, Eijisai-dono?"

Genryusai nodded solemnly while picking up his pen once more. "Deeds of the past should never be forgotten, Chojiro. She will never truly be free of the monster within her, but that does not mean we should allow one of our most powerful captains to die because we could not find it in ourselves to use the resources available to us."

"It would be less taxing to just allow that human girl here on a pass, wouldn't it?"

"But that would also show that we rely on her. It is not something I can allow. It is bad enough that we have needed Ichigo Kurosaki to aid us several times in the past." Sasakibe was silent after that, and Genryusai focused all of his attention on the task at hand.  _'I never agreed with their ruling to begin with,'_  he thought.  _'No one is aware of that, though. Now, hopefully, my assistance in this will get her released. Lucy, I hope you will be set free…'_

* * *

Shunsui's eyes were lowered as he was taken into the prison beneath the first division, led by Captain-Commander Yamamoto and his Lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe. All he could assume was that something in the old man's recommendation had helped to sway the councilors in Central 46, because he'd really only been able to go in and just wing it when he'd been summoned to the meeting.

" _It has come to the attention of this council that you, Captain Shunsui Kyouraku, Second Son of the great Kyouraku clan, wish to seek a pardon for Prisoner UL24SP, imprisoned in the eighth level, Muken, of the Central Underground Prison."_

" _More or less," he muttered to himself before clearing his throat. "That is correct," he said loud enough to be heard._

" _And what is your justification for this request?"_

After that, Shunsui had simply said exactly what he felt, that whoever this prisoner was, whatever his abilities, he could be a great asset in saving Captain Ukitake's life. A statement that he'd gotten from Captain Unohana at the last minute helped to back up his case, at least a little. That there was nothing the best healer in the Gotei 13 could do, aside from try to make Jushiro more comfortable with the time he had left.

Things had been just a little  _too_  easy, as far as he was concerned, and Shunsui had a sinking feeling that he was going to find out once he had the prisoner in his custody. Maybe it was the small, contented smile on Genryusai's lips, or the frown on his lieutenant's, but Shunsui was sure that whatever he'd gotten himself into…

"We are here, Captain Kyouraku," Genryusai said. "Just through this door. It's a little on the dark side in there, but you'll find the prisoner easily enough."

"And I just have to… do what, exactly?" he asked, turning to face the old man when they came to a stop in front of two enormous iron doors, with the edges etched in deep, unreadable markings.

"Don't allow any physical contact," Genryusai said, pulling a small key from within the folds of his shihakusho. "At least, not skin contact. Use this to unlock the restraints. I doubt you'll have any real difficulties."

"Even though you're releasing a murderer," Sasakibe mumbled.

Shunsui frowned and looked down at the small, golden key in his hand, then clenched his fist around it. He couldn't get cold feet now. Jushiro needed him, and he needed the healer that was just on the other side of that door. "Anything else?"

"Sasakibe will wait out here for you, and he will escort you to the exit," Genryusai said, raising one hand and pressing it to the seal on the door. Soft green light shimmered from the top to bottom for only a moment, then disappeared. "Use discretion in who knows about this, Shunsui. You are responsible for the prisoner now, after all."

"Do I get to know this guy's name, yet?" Shunsui asked as the old man started to walk away, his cane clacking softly on the tile floor. "Guess not…"

"I will wait here for you," Sasakibe said. He raised one hand and pushed the door open, gesturing for Shunsui to go inside. "Don't get lost."

"Cryptic," Shunsui smirked. His eyes unconsciously widened once he was closed in the prison, the darkness surrounding him so intense that he could almost hear it. Blackness stretched immeasurably far beyond him, and the first step through the voided darkness had him stumbling slightly while trying to find his footing. The ground was perfectly even, as he found out the further he walked, and the disorienting feeling from being surrounded by only the dark lessened the longer he was there.

He squinted when a soft spotlight glowed in a circle only a few feet from him, off to the right. A small figure was kneeling with their back to him, with long golden hair flowing down and pooling on the ground. He could only assume that this was the prisoner he was looking for, and circled around the light on the ground until he was standing in front of the person. "Prisoner UL24SP?" he asked carefully.

"Is that what they're calling me?"

Shunsui's eyes went wide as the figure's head lifted, revealing a young woman with large, chocolate eyes and a sweet, almost innocent smile. "Y-You're… uh…" A dark blue kimono was stretched over what he belatedly realized were more than generous curves, the soft white obi tied around her thin waist only accentuating her breasts. She was the picture of modesty, and he found himself simply standing there and staring when she lifted one hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, only to let out a quiet, lilting laugh when her sleeve got caught on the tips of her fingers.

"Prisoner UL-something-or-other," she laughed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain…?"

"Kyouraku."

She bowed her head slightly, closing her eyes for a moment. "Captain Kyouraku."

"I don't mean to sound like an idiot here, but… You're a woman?"

"The last time I checked," she laughed.

"Locked in Muken…"

"It would seem that way, yes."

"Well, uh… Alright then." Really, he should have known. Somehow. The first thought in his mind, though, was that the old man was most likely laughing at him. He'd so quickly assumed that this prisoner, the one with some unfounded healing ability that had murdered… some number of people… was a man. In his mind up until that moment, he realized, she had appeared to be a mirror of Aizen. Now, he knew better.

"Was there something you needed, Captain Kyouraku?" she asked, placing her hands in her lap with the long sleeves trailing over her fingers and down on the floor.

"Right, sorry," he chuckled. "I got a little stuck on the fact that you're a woman."

"You thought I was a man?" When he nodded, her head tilted to one side in curiosity. "You don't know who I am."

"No, I can't say that I do." The way she smiled at him then, Shunsui was sure he went blind for a moment. It was bright, cheerful even.  _'She sure doesn't look like a murderer.'_  Then again, maybe the fact that she was just so innocent-looking was how she'd lured her victims to their deaths.

"My name is Lucy," she said.

"Nice to meet ya, Lucy," he chuckled, taking a single step closer to the light surrounding the blonde. His brow lifted when she tensed only a moment before relaxing again. Her eyes flickered down to his sheathed swords, then back up to meet his gaze, the smile never leaving her face.

"You're not here to execute me, are you?"

"No," he answered, watching curiously as her shoulders relaxed just a little. "You've actually been pardoned."

Lucy's eyes widened at that, her jaw dropping open in shock. "I… What?"

"Yep. There are some stipulations, of course, but you're being released into my custody."

"Wh-Why?"

"Well, it was either I got you out, or you would have been experimented on by Captain Kurotsuchi for that ability you've got." At the simple mention of the strange ability she seemed to possess, Lucy's face shut down completely. Her smile morphed into a thin line and her eyes hardened.

"Is  _that_  why you're here?" she hissed quietly.

"Well, I'd think going with me would be a nicer experience than whatever that lunatic has in mind for you," he sighed, opening his hand to reveal the key he'd been given. "We can talk about the details later. This place is creeping me out."

"I kind of like it here," she whispered as Shunsui knelt in front of her. She looked down at the key held between his fingers, then up to his face to see that he was utterly confused on how to use it. With a heavy sigh, she lifted her hands and let the overly long sleeves of her kimono slide down to her elbows, revealing a pair of elbow-length, black metal gauntlets that had been shackled to her. "Right there," she said flatly.

"Thanks."

Lucy nodded, her eyes narrowing while she took in every detail she could about the man before her while he examined the gauntlets that held her captive. He smelled sweet, yet masculine, like berries and pine. She couldn't see too clearly, since she'd been in the dark for so long, but she could still make out his slightly pointed jaw, his long, thin nose, dark hair tied into a ponytail and hanging over his shoulder, and a fair dusting of stubble as though he hadn't bothered to shave in a few days. Even when he was a little on the blurry side, she could tell he was handsome. It wasn't hard to tell that he was a shinigami - or a captain, since she could see a bit of his haori beneath the pink, flowery kimono over his broad shoulders - but she couldn't remember ever having seen someone quite like him before she'd been locked up.

As her vision cleared a little, and when she could hear the key shifting the tumblers in the locking mechanism, she saw that his eyes were gentle, as though he wouldn't dare hurt a hair on her head. His smile was an easy one, one that only came from finding and holding tightly to a certain inner peace. Still, she could see it in his eyes. Pain, lurking just beneath the surface. "I hope you've said your goodbyes to whoever you want me to heal," she whispered as the gauntlets were removed, pulling her sleeves back down to cover her now-bare hands and arms.

Shunsui's eyes widened as he pulled the gauntlets away and Lucy's fingers accidentally brushed over his own. He was instantly cautious, considering he'd been told to make sure his skin didn't touch hers, but he didn't feel a thing.

Lucy gasped as that single brush over Shunsui's calloused fingertips caused a sudden swell of power to surge through her body. The gauntlets hadn't done a whole lot of anything to her, except for making sure her hands were immobilized, and anyone that came to visit - although, she'd never once seen a person in the time she'd been locked up - wasn't able to touch her. Her reiatsu hadn't been cut off before, simply encased in a tight shell around her body. But this, just that brief bit of contact, and feeling the overwhelming power that lurked within the captain before her, had her eyelids fluttering as she lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground.

He blinked in surprise, dropping the heavy metal gauntlets to the ground as he stared at the blonde. "Lucy?" he asked, carefully leaning over her. "You alright?"

"..."

"Well, this oughta be interesting," he sighed, pulling the kimono from around his shoulders and carefully wrapping it around the blonde. Once he was sure that the only skin of hers showing was her face, he slowly pulled her into his arms and stood, then started making his way back over to where he hoped the door was. He refused to dwell on the fact that there was a damn beautiful woman in his arms. Mostly, because she was unconscious, and that was just a level of creepiness that he never wanted to get near.  _'That's probably more Kenpachi's style…'_

The thought made him chuckle, and the small smile stayed on his face as the doors opened just ahead of him, revealing Lieutenant Sasakibe wearing an unamused expression. "What can I say?" he smirked. "Ladies always fall for my charms."

* * *

"Lucy… Lucy…"

She let out a quiet whine as the familiar, deep, growling voice echoed in the air.

"Damnit, I'm trying to talk to you here."

Her eyes shot open into a glare, and she sat up, nearly falling from the branch she was lying on. Sakura petals drifted down lazily, the scent of them filling her sinuses with every breath she took. "Why do we always do this in the tree Onii-chan broke his leg falling from?" she asked, leaning back against the trunk while looking to the branch just next to her own.

"You know why."

She rolled her eyes at the man by her side. His long black coat with gold trim, opened to reveal a small portion of his bare chest, the white fabric wrapped over it and knotted on his shoulder. Black hair that would touch his shoulders if it wasn't wildly spiked, and piercing red eyes. Pale skin stretched over lightly corded muscles on his slender frame. And barefoot. Every time she saw him, he was always barefoot. "Yeah, because it's the first time I healed someone…"

"So, why ask stupid questions?" he chuckled.

"Did you want something?" Lucy asked.

He smiled and leaned back on one hand, pulling a leg up onto the branch to properly lounge. Just like the blonde's eldest brother had done when he fell that day. "Just wanted to check up on my favorite girl. I worry about you."

"I've spent the last, Kami-only-knows how long, doing nothing  _but_  talking to you," she huffed. "Why do you think I'm even partially sane?"

"Oh, but Lucy," he crooned, his voice sinfully sweet as his eyes darkened to a deep wine color. "You know I love it when you go a little crazy. My sexy little psycho."

"And the creep-factor just keeps getting higher."

"Take off your kimono, and I'll show you just how high you can go."

"And we're done!" Lucy scowled as he started laughing, a light blush on her cheeks. "It's not funny!"

"It is!" he cackled, tipping back and forth and nearly falling several times. "You're just… Oh, this is too easy." When he caught sight of the blonde moving to get up, then promptly losing her footing, he lunged forward and pulled her to his chest, rotating in the air as they fell to the lush grass so she landed on top of him. "Well, would you look at that?" he chuckled. "You're right where I want you."

Lucy squawked when his hands glided down her sides to lightly squeeze her behind. She fruitlessly smacked him in the head, then rolled away as soon as his grip on her loosened. "I hate it when you do that!"

He sat up on his elbows, giving her a cheshire grin. "If you hate it so much, then-"

"What is it you want, Chinogishiki?" she asked again, crossing her arms under her chest.

Finally, he sighed in resignation, his head falling back so he could look up into the frozen sky. "I felt it," he whispered.

"Felt what?"

"That captain. He's a powerful one."

Slowly, hesitantly, Lucy sunk down to her knees by his head. She could never explain just why it happened, but just like every other time, his head rested in her lap and she gently toyed with the soft black strands of his hair. "He said I was pardoned," she whispered, her voice trembling. "He wants me to heal someone…"

The red-eyed man scowled and reached up to lightly hold one of her hands. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to, Lucy. Not anymore."

"But, if I don't… They'll just lock me up again. I miss being able to see the sun. Or anything… Memories just aren't the same."

"Sure, but even if you're locked up in that pathetic place they called a prison, you've still got me," Chinogishiki whispered.

"Or they'll just tie me down and make me do it," she whispered. "He mentioned some other captain wanted to experiment on me…"

"Well, there's nothing stopping you now," he sighed, giving her slender fingers a gentle squeeze. When her soulful, brown eyes locked onto his own, more depraved red, he smirked. "You know how to let me out."

"I can't do that…"

"Sure you can," he grinned. "Just let me out, and we'll kill him. Then we can go and find the ones that locked you up, and-"

"That's enough," she said, pulling her hand from his and placing her fingertips over his thin lips. "I don't want to kill anyone, Chinogishiki. You know that..."

"Y'know," he sighed. "You make me wanna just force myself to manifest. Then I could kill anyone I wanted."

"Why are you so bloodthirsty?" she asked sadly.

"Why aren't you?" he replied, his tone mirroring hers.

"Because I want to help people, not hurt them."

"But helping  _them_  only hurts  _you_. And when you're hurting, so am I. Where's the good in that? What have  _they_  ever done for  _us_ , Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head, remaining silent for a time while she looked back up to the clouds that never moved in the pale grey sky. Her fingers sought out his hair once again and she listened for any sound to echo in the distance, like the memories of herself and her siblings running through that same field. Anything.

Chinogishiki frowned while looking up at the blonde, then turned on his side to bury his nose in the pale blue obi around her waist.

"Just behave yourself, Chinogishiki," Lucy whispered. "We're not doing anything like that."

"Suit yourself," he whispered. "Just remember… I'm right here when you need me."

A tender smile pulled up the corners of Lucy's lips while she looked down at her zanpakuto spirit. "And most especially when I  _don't_ ," she giggled.

"You wound me."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you," she teased.

Chinogishiki grinned and barely turned his head to look up at her, his eyes fading to black and half-lidded while she kept running her fingers through his hair, calming his bloodlust slowly as time went on. "You know me so well."

* * *

"... Lieutenant Sasakibe," Shunsui said with a lazy smile, waving off the silver-haired man as he carried Lucy to the exit.

Lucy let out a quiet moan, her brow pinched together as she regained consciousness.

"You're awake," he sighed in relief.

"I guess," she muttered, her eyes slowly opening and squinting against the bright lights surrounding them.

"Well, I'll carry you until you're ready to stand," Shunsui offered with a small smile.

"I'll be fine. Please put me down, Captain Kyouraku."

He shrugged and carefully lowered the blonde's feet to the ground, smiling when she stumbled and leaned against his side. Once she was steady, he carefully pulled his kimono from around her shoulders and set it back on his own, taking extra care not to touch her skin. "I do hope you'll change your mind," he said as they began walking. "About helping my friend, that is... Unless, you'd rather I carry you." When she frowned slightly, he chuckled. "I definitely wouldn't be opposed to carrying you."

"You don't know what you're asking me to do," Lucy replied, ignoring everything else he'd said after the mention of his friend.

His brow pinched at the small tremor in her voice, but he didn't say anything.

Lucy looked up at the captain with a frown. "I won't do it."

"Even if you won't," he sighed, "We're still leaving. I'll explain everything once we're back at my division."

"Which division?" she whispered, lowering her eyes and keeping pace beside him.

"Eighth."

Lucy nodded, keeping her head lowered and clenching her jaw tightly as they walked through the doors that led to the outside world.

He didn't dare to get much closer than he already was as they walked away from Squad 1's sector, further north toward his own division. And he really wasn't sure of what he could say to the woman at his side. He did, however, keep a close eye on her while they made their way through the streets, and found it curious that she was keeping her head down so no one could see her face, and still managing to dodge the odd shinigami that nearly bumped into her.

Lucy wanted to look around, to see what had changed in the time she'd been locked away, but she couldn't. It was too bright outside already, and she didn't want to get her hopes up that it would be something she'd get to see again. For all she knew, she was going from one cell to another. That's just how it was for her. Still, being able to feel the reiatsu of others, the sounds and smells of the outside world that surrounded her, was more than she could have hoped for. Things were different, sure, but it was all familiar enough that she didn't feel as though she was completely out of her element.

"Y'know," Shunsui sighed. "You're right about something."

"What's that?"

"I don't really know what I'm asking you for. At least, not where you're concerned. What I do know, though…" He paused and looked down at the blonde, giving her a sad smile once their eyes locked. "Is that I'll do anything to save my best friend."

"Must be nice," she whispered. "Having someone like that."

"It is," Shunsui nodded. "And I'll be damned if I just let him die, when there's someone like  _you_  that can help him."

"If you didn't even know my name," she said slowly, "How do you know I can help this friend of yours?"

"Because if you couldn't, then Yama-jii wouldn't have even let me  _think_  about talking to Central 46. And, if it doesn't work, then there's nothing else that can be done."

"I'm a murderer," she frowned, closing her eyes for a moment when she felt her zanpakuto growling within her. He never did like the way she'd so willingly accepted her sentencing for what had happened, after all. "I could just as easily kill this person you want me to save."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Shunsui sighed. "He needs help, and nothing else is working. I can't lose him, and if that means putting my faith in a criminal, then all I can do is hope you have enough of a heart to see that he's worth saving."

"And you just expect me to jump up and help this person," Lucy mused, looking back down at the ground. "I don't owe you anything.

"I did just get you pardoned," Shunsui mused. "So, I guess you owe me something."

"I never asked for your help, or anyone else's," she scowled. "I was tried by Central 46 and convicted. I accepted my punishment for killing all those people, and that was that."

"You're telling me you really wanted to spend the next few  _thousand_  years in Muken..."

"It's better than anything out here for me," she whispered, missing the shock that registered on Shunsui's face when he heard the sadness in her voice. "I just want to be left alone, but you still want to force me to do this."

"I never said I was forcing you," Shunsui sighed. "I'm asking you to do this. I'll beg, if I have to. Jushiro's dying, and I don't want to lose my best friend."

Lucy blinked, pausing in her step as the name left his lips. "What did you say?"

Shunsui turned to face her, watching as her wide eyes slowly lifted to look at him. "My friend," he said. "Jushiro Ukitake. He's been sick for a while now, but ever since fall, he's stopped getting better. Captain Unohana says he doesn't have long."

"Ukitake," Lucy whispered, her eyes darting one way, then another, before returning to his penetrating gaze. "And you said… Captain Unohana…"

"Says there's nothing left for her to do," Shunsui repeated, his brow furrowing when he saw her arms bar across her stomach.

"Can I… Can I see for myself how bad it is?"

"You'll help him?" he asked incredulously. "Really?"

Lucy nodded, nibbling her lower lip. "Yeah. Take me there. You said he doesn't have long, so it's probably a good idea for me to start as soon as possible, right?"

Shunsui nodded, then moved forward and led her into a nearby alley. "This will go faster if I carry you," he said quietly. When he saw her hesitate, he shook his head. "I won't touch your skin again. That was an accident."

After a slow breath, Lucy nodded. She tucked her hands into the sleeves of her kimono and blushed when he walked forward and easily lifted her into his arms. Her eyes closed when Shunsui began flash stepping through the Seireitei, moving up to the rooftops to draw less attention to the two of them. Within minutes, she was being set down on the ground again, and opened her eyes once she was upright. Only to find familiar deep, blue eyes looking back at her.

"I see you found a way to bring her, Captain Kyouraku," Unohana said with a small smile.

"Lemme guess," he sighed. "You  _also_  knew she was a woman."

"Didn't you?" Unohana asked, her eyes closing as her sweet smile widened.

Lucy bowed her head when the fourth division's captain looked back at her again. "Captain Unohana," she whispered reverently. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Yes," Unohana said softly, looking down at the blonde. "You may want to see him. He doesn't look so good."

"Has he gotten worse since this morning?" Shunsui asked worriedly, his stomach dropping when the brunette nodded.

Lucy lifted her head and peeked around Unohana, to the partially opened door with a short brunette woman standing just outside, her hand on her zanpakuto and a band around her arm with the insignia of Squad 13. "He's a captain, isn't he…"

"Yes," Shunsui sighed. "Let's get you in there." He led Lucy up the few steps that led to Jushiro's room, giving Rukia a small nod. "You can go ahead and head out, Rukia-chan. I'll stay with him."

Rukia bowed respectfully to Shunsui, then turned to look at the blonde woman by his side. "And who are you?"

Lucy blinked at the icy tone in the woman's voice, but before she could speak, Shunsui said, "This is Lucy-chan." He completely missed the surprised look in the blonde's eyes at the honorific. "Yama-jii asked that she come down to see him."

After a moment, Rukia nodded and Lucy let out a sigh when the woman walked off.

"Everyone's pretty high-strung right now," Shunsui said as he opened the door fully and led the blonde inside once his sandals and her geta - the surprisingly high clog sandals he hadn't even realized she was wearing until that moment - were off.

Lucy nervously chewed on her lower lip as she was led around a privacy screen, and her breath died in her throat when she saw the white-haired man lying in the bed. "Oh, Kami…"

"Yeah, he's-"

Once she saw his too-pale, sunken cheeks, the dark circles under his eyes and the sweat dotting his brow, Lucy rushed past Shunsui and dropped to her knees beside the bed. Her hand reached out to him, and her trembling fingers brushed his matted hair from his forehead. "It's really you," she said, a strangled cry catching in her throat when his head turned toward the sound of her voice and his eyes barely opened. "Onii-chan..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is the one that got me thinking about even becoming a writer in the first place. Every time I watched a new Bleach episode, I'd think about this. And now, five-plus years later, I'm actually doing it.
> 
> I will say that the majority of Fairy Tail characters won't be making an appearance in this story. Although, Lucy's zanpakuto decided that he was going to look like Zeref, and have a little of Loke and Virgo's personalities, so we'll see what happens!


	2. Paying the Price

 

Shunsui watched, his mouth slack and his eyes wide, as Jushiro's eyes slid open a little further. A delirious smile pulled at his friend's lips when his unfocused gaze landed on the blonde criminal.

"Lu... cy..."

This had been the furthest thing from Shunsui's mind when he'd thought to get the blonde of out Muken. Sure, he knew about Jushiro's family, to a point. That the white-haired captain was from a lower aristocratic family, not one of the greater noble clans, and he was the one that supported his two sisters and three brothers since their parents' passing a few hundred years before. Jushiro never talked about his family much, and Shunsui never bothered to ask him about where his siblings were at, since he'd been able to tell that it was always a touchy subject.

But now, as he looked at the once-again unconscious captain, then to Lucy, he could see the resemblance. And that most of it laid in their eyes. As she turned to look at him, with tears welling on her lashes, Shunsui was suddenly stricken by just how identical they were to Jushiro's. Wider and more innocent, sure, but no less soulful. No less expressive.

"H-How long has he been like this?" she asked, sniffling and not caring in the slightest as a few stray tears trickled down her cheeks.

"Jushiro's been sick on and off for a while," Shunsui said. He slowly made his way over to kneel next to the blonde, his gaze resting on where her hand was gently cupping Jushiro's cheek. There was skin contact, but she wasn't passing out.  _'Maybe it's because his reiatsu is so low right now…'_  Regardless of that, he could tell that she wanted more than the vague answer he'd given her. "Weak constitution, I guess," he sighed. "All I know is that he always bounces back after he gets a little rest. Last October he passed out while we were walking to a captain's meeting, and he didn't wake up again. Not really…"

"And no one knows wh-what it is?" Lucy asked, turning to look back at her eldest brother.

"No…" Shunsui's brow furrowed when Jushiro let out a quiet, discomfited moan and his shivering increased. "You're… You're really his sister?"

She didn't hesitate. "Yes," Lucy whispered. "I'm the youngest, but… Onii-chan a-always… He always took care of me…" This wasn't supposed to be like this though. She knew what was wrong with him, since he'd told her just what had happened when he was only a toddler, well before she'd been born. But him getting sick wasn't part of the deal their parents had made. He was supposed to be healthy and strong, not…

" _Relax, beautiful,"_  Chinogishiki whispered in Lucy's mind.  _"You can help him. You've just gotta get to work."_

" _I've never done something as bad as this…"_

" _Well, you know what to do. Take your time, get it all out, and don't forget…"_  She could feel her zanpakuto's tender smile, and saw a flash of his calm, black eyes in her mind.  _"I'm right here with you. No matter what."_

Slowly, Lucy turned to look back into Shunsui's tormented gaze. She placed her free hand on his arm, a small shiver running through her as her fingers brushed over his skin. The power running through him was immense, but now that she knew what to expect, now that she wasn't locked in that god-awful prison and could feel herself returning to normal, she knew she wouldn't react the same way as before. "I'll heal him," she whispered, a sad smile on her lips when his eyes cut over to hers.

"You will?" he asked, still not believing the sudden stroke of luck he'd gotten. What more motivation could someone want to heal another, than for that person to be their older brother, someone they obviously cared a great deal about.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's going to take a few days to get it done, and…" Lucy paused, her lips thinning into a line and bile rising in her throat. She knew that Shunsui needed to know just what he was asking of her, what she would need to do after she'd healed her older brother, but she couldn't get the words out. Only Jushiro knew exactly what had to be done, and no one else had ever cared to find out. She was just a means to heal others, as far as anyone else knew. No one cared what it would do to her…

"... And?" Shunsui asked.

Lucy knew, then and there, that she would just have to make due without what she needed.

" _Tell him, Lucy,"_ Chinogishiki whispered worriedly.  _"You know better than to-"_

" _I know that I'll do anything to help Onii-chan."_  Lucy schooled her expression back into one of passivity, missing how Shunsui narrowed his eyes curiously at her. "And... I want a guarantee that I'll never go back to that prison."

Shunsui nodded. "I haven't gotten to talk to you about all the details," he sighed. "But yes. That's something I can guarantee. You've been placed under my custody, as both a captain in the Gotei 13, and the leader of the Kyouraku clan. So, unless someone wants to start fighting with clan laws, you're good."

"K-Kyouraku… clan?" she said, the breath leaving her in a rush. She hadn't thought much about Shunsui's name when they'd met, but now she felt like an idiot. Of the Five Great Clans, Kyouraku had been the third before she'd been incarcerated. Her own family was a small off-shoot of the Shiba clan, with enough distance between them and the Shiba's that most people forgot they were really part of the larger clan in general. "Y-You mean…"

Shunsui smirked then, carefully reaching up to swipe away the tears on her cheeks with a knuckle. "Yep. We're a little unorthodox, especially since I took over, but… Someone's gotta fill in for the Shiba's, since they were exiled."

"The Shiba clan was…"

"Twenty-something years ago," Shunsui nodded. "Regardless of all that, and I know you probably want to hear more about everything that's changed in the last few hundred years, you're not going back to prison. I've got even more of a reason to keep you out of there, knowing you're Jushiro's sister."

"Y-You mean," Lucy whispered uncertainly. "I'll be able to…"

He grinned at her then, lazy yet no less ecstatic. "Yeah, I'd say you can see your big brother and have a proper reunion once he's all better." The last thing he'd been expecting was for the blonde to launch herself at him, but just as Shunsui was readying himself to push her away and defend himself, her arms wound around his waist and she hugged herself tightly to him.

"Th-Thank you, Captain Kyouraku. Thank you so much!"

"Don't mention it," he chuckled while gently patting the top of her head.

Lucy pulled back suddenly, a light flush on her cheeks.  _'Oh kami… I just hugged him… I'm so stupid!'_

" _That pervy bastard doesn't seem to mind,"_  Chinogishiki growled.

"S-So," Lucy stuttered. "I need to get both of us set up, and… A-And, uh…"

Shunsui's brow lifted as the blonde continued sputtering, watching intently as the flush across her cheeks deepened until her face was a bright pink. Now, he was well aware of what his status as a clan leader could do, and the doors it could open when necessary, and he'd seen plenty of women acting along the same lines as Lucy was. Just, not to this extent. After a moment, he chuckled quietly, shaking his head as her eyes shot up and locked onto his.

The sheepish smile Lucy gave him nearly knocked the wind from his lungs though, and that… That was something Shunsui just didn't know how to handle. Something he'd never experienced before. It was something he could think about later though, because she had a point. Jushiro needed healing, and Lucy was there to do just that. "Right," he said. "Anything I can do to help?"

Lucy nodded and quickly looked around the room from where she was kneeling. "I'll need a yukata," she said. "My kimono really isn't going to work too well for this."

Shunsui stood, then reached down and gave the blonde a small smile while he helped her to her feet. He led her to the closet, then opened the door and handed her a soft, cotton yukata, one that he knew Jushiro favored by how often he'd seen his friend wearing it.

Lucy smiled at the familiar article of clothing once it was in her hands, quietly thanking Shunsui as she made her way into a small bathroom she'd noticed while walking to the closet. "This will take a minute, but…"

" _I swear,"_  Chinogishiki muttered,  _"If he offers to-"_

"Need some help in there?" Shunsui asked before he could stop himself. Force of habit, really. There was no way he would even  _think_  about going anywhere near Jushiro's sister with less than pure intentions. There were some lines you just didn't cross, and that, he was sure, was one of them. Besides, the woman was a murderer - although, he really couldn't picture her killing anyone - and he still knew nothing about her. Regardless of all that, he knew that he would need to keep a close eye on her.

" _That's it! I'm killing him!"_  Chinogishiki roared.

"No!" Lucy snapped aloud to her zanpakuto, her lips clamping shut a moment later while she started removing the layers of clothing she'd been dressed in by her attendant before her sentencing. "I mean… No, thank you, Captain Kyouraku." Internally, she was doing everything in her power to keep her zanpakuto from just outright manifesting himself and going on a killing spree.

There was a small saving grace to having been locked in Muken, she realized once she looked at the mirror above the sink. She hadn't aged a single minute, from what she could tell, and she was sure they had used some sort of technology to make it so that she was still clean. Her hair wasn't oily, and there was no unsavory smell coming from her body once she was bare.

"Suit yourself," Shunsui laughed.

Lucy blinked in surprise while looking at herself in the mirror. She'd never been a vain person, but right then, she just couldn't help herself. "Captain?"

"Hm?"

"No one's told me how long I was…"

"Three hundred years," he answered while standing at Jushiro's bedside, looking down at his deteriorating friend with saddened eyes.

"Three hundred," she whispered in wonder, turning one way and another and taking in just how little she had changed in that time. More precisely, the fact that nothing was different. She was still as thin as she'd been before. There was no atrophy in the fine muscles she'd gained in her three years at Shin'o Academy. Yes, she was a bit sore, but that was to be expected since she'd apparently spent three whole centuries kneeling in a miniscule kido barrier in the darkened depths of Muken with no pillow between her and the unforgiving ground. Her breasts were the same as the last time she'd seen them, and when she turned to look at her back…

"Everything alright in there?" Shunsui asked after several agonizingly silent minutes.

Lucy's eyes widened and she quickly pulled the yukata around herself, tying it closed just before walking out of the bathroom. "Sorry," she whispered. "I… haven't seen my reflection in a long time."

Shunsui nodded in understanding. He could only assume that he would be doing quite the same thing if he was in her shoes. He didn't take his eyes off of Jushiro though as she walked closer, but kept his senses honed for any surprise moves she might try to make. The unexpected hug she'd given him earlier, while nice, was proof that he'd let his guard down too easily. He had to remember that she was a convicted criminal, and that he couldn't just place his trust in her so quickly. Jushiro was the great judge of character, not him.

Lucy sighed as she came to stand at Shunsui's side, nervously fidgeting with the sleeves on the overly long, maroon yukata that nearly touched the floor. She slowly pulled the sheet down from Jushiro's chest, then knelt on the bed and started shifting the white-haired shinigami so she could open his own yukata and bare his chest.

"Uh," Shunsui frowned, the confusion evident on his face. His head tilted to one side when Lucy rolled Jushiro onto his side and pulled his white yukata down and off of his shoulders, and he outright blanched as the blonde settled herself beneath the sheet in front of the white-haired captain and pulled her own clothing down to reveal her back - all while somehow keeping her breasts covered. Mostly.

Lucy let out a steadying breath as she laid down at her brother's side, closing her eyes while getting him into the proper position. She felt his sweat-dampened chest pressing against her back, and bit her lip while carefully pulling his limp arm over her waist. It would have been so much easier if she had a wrap for her chest, like the one she'd had before, but she just had to make due for the time being.

Jushiro shifted slightly, unconsciously nestling his nose in Lucy's hair and pulling in a slow, staggering breath that was filled with the familiar scent of lilies in the rain. Just when Shunsui's lips parted to ask what Lucy was doing, he took a quick step back when there was a sudden swell of power from around the blonde.

Jushiro's body erupted in fiery red reiatsu that arced violently out of him and scorched the bedding he and Lucy laid on. The blonde's body started to glow, softly at first, then more and more brightly until she was surrounded by a gentle pink aura.

Lucy gasped and ground her teeth together as the first arc of reiatsu pierced her body from the man behind her, her eyes clamping shut as more white-hot spears of Jushiro's manifested illness were sucked into her. Once she felt the shift, how her own spirit centers started to burn slightly from being over-filled, she sent her own gentler, soothing reiatsu into him.

Shunsui stared at the blonde for several minutes, watching as the obvious discomfort she was feeling started to show in her pinched brow and the sweat that dotted her face and arms. He was at a loss for what to do, and found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from the spectacle of what he was witnessing. Granted, he had no idea what was actually happening, so he did the only thing he could think of in that moment. With his hat, pink kimono and haori set off to the side on a small chair, he knelt down in front of the blonde, just as her fingers laced with Jushiro's and she pushed his hand under her top to rest on her stomach.

Lucy let out a small whimper, biting her lips to keep herself quiet, as her body was branded with the searing heat of this foreign reiatsu. This was her gift. What people had used her for, and what she'd been incarcerated for. No one knew the truth of what had happened that day she'd taken so many lives, but it was because of her ability to heal, to draw injuries into herself and replace them as though they'd never existed in another, that she'd been seen as a threat. And the fact that the family as a whole had merely thrown her to the wolves, after all the years she'd spent in devoted service to both them and the Shiba clan, made bitterness well deep within her.

" _Hold onto the light,"_ Chinogishiki hissed.  _"Fuck, this hurts… Just hold on, it'll even out."_

This was the most painful part of it all, knowing that, even though she was helping her brother, her zanpakuto was hurting. He felt her pain, saw her distress. The black-haired man within her soul was forced to endure just as much as she was, and she'd yet to find a way to make it so he wouldn't suffer at her hands.

"Do you need anything?" Shunsui asked, wincing when her mouth opened to answer him and the pink and red reiatsu swirled violently in the air above the bed. It clashed, and he fought against the urge to pull away from it all when the power swelled until he felt as though Old Man Yamamoto had set fire to the training grounds while in one of his 'punishment' moods.

"L-Leave," Lucy whimpered, forcing her eyes to open a little and meet Shunsui's questioning gaze. No one should be there while she did this, watching her every move, scrutinizing every detail. It had never been this bad before though, and while she knew deep within her that she could heal her brother, she didn't know what would happen outside of the two of them.

"What?" he asked. "I can't do that."

"Y-You have… t-to…" She whimpered as more reiatsu sliced through her body, chilly at first until she was sure she would melt from the inside out. "Go… Please…"

Shunsui shook his head, ready to tell the blonde that there was no way he would leave her with Jushiro, until he was yanked back roughly and thrown toward the door. The foundation of the building rumbled ominously, and he blinked as Captain Unohana pushed him out of the room and sealed the door shut behind her once they were both outside. "What's going on?" he asked. "You can't just expect me to just stay out here."

Unohana let out a slow breath as she placed a kido barrier around Jushiro's living quarters, one that would mask and contain the errant reiatsu from leaking out and keep the overwhelming pressure held within it. "Captain Kyouraku," she said once she was finished, turning to hand him the clothing he'd set aside. "I take it that Captain-Commander Yamamoto has not told you about Lucy-san's ability."

"No, I'm pretty much clueless here. All I know is that she can heal people."

The brunette sighed and looked down at her zanpakuto, her eyes distant for a moment. "Yes," she finally whispered. "She has the exceptional ability to heal others, making it so they appear to have never sustained the injuries she treated. But-"

A shrill screech of pain, wholly feminine and filled with torment, ripped through the air, causing Shunsui's eyes to widen in horror. "Is that… supposed to happen?"

"Not that I am aware of," Unohana replied, frowning as she looked at the building. "But there is nothing we can do to interfere."

"I'm obviously missing something here, so do you mind maybe clueing me in?"

"I'm afraid you'll need to speak with Lucy about that. Or Captain Ukitake. All I can tell you is that… He will be healed in due time."

He was able to hear harsh panting on the other side of the door, followed by a series of pained whimpers and another shriek of agony. Red and pink light flickered in the windows, one color overtaking the other for a few seconds before it shifted again. He felt like there was some serious error he'd made in allowing Lucy to heal his friend, but there just wasn't enough information available for him to figure out just what it was. "So, what do we do?" Shunsui wasn't happy about it, but it was obvious that Unohana had some sort of experience where the blonde criminal inside was concerned.

"We wait," she replied softly, giving the man before her a tender smile. "We will know when it's done. The kido I've placed around the building will dissipate when the reiatsu within it has evened out again. It will be safe to go inside then."

"Safe? So, she could maybe kill him by doing this?"

"Not him," Unohana said, leading the stunned eighth division captain down the steps and over to a small grassy area dotted with trees. "If there is one thing you should not worry about, it is of harm coming to Captain Ukitake while his sister is with him."

"Even though she was stuck in Muken for murder."

"Even then," she laughed quietly. "No one is safer from the demons of Lucy-san's past than the one that always protected her." At Shunsui's confused expression, she sighed and shook her head. "There are a great many things that we, as captains, must keep to ourselves. You know this, already."

"Sure," he nodded. "Everyone's got their secrets."

"Yes," she whispered, smiling demurely. "And it is because of the need for secrecy that only a select few knew of her incarceration in Muken. During that time, Captain Ukitake made a statement to Central 46, stating that she should be remanded into his sole custody. He said that he would be safe from her, because his youngest sister was the gentlest soul he had ever known."

"Sorry, that's just a little hard to picture," he chuckled. "A gentle soul committing murder?"

"It is difficult to imagine," she nodded. "But, that is all I can say, I'm afraid. I know you wish for more answers, but the only ones that can give them to you are currently in that room."

Shunsui let out a heavy sigh as he looked back to the barrier-enclosed building. He'd never been told anything about Jushiro's youngest sister being locked up in prison, even though they were best friends. This whole time, Shunsui had been so focused in finding a way to get his friend back on his feet, and now that it was just a matter of waiting, and assuming that Lucy wouldn't kill her brother, he wasn't really sure what to do with himself.

"Is it true that Captain Kurotsuchi was planning on experimenting on her?"

He nodded, turning slightly when Nanao and Isane walked over. "What do you think he'll do, now that he can't get to his test subject?"

"Oh," Unohana laughed softly, her smile sending chills down everyone's spines. "I wouldn't worry too much about him. It seems something else caught his attention rather quickly. Captain-Commander Yamamoto sent him to Hueco Mundo when…"

"Ah," Shunsui laughed, waving his hands in front of himself. "I don't want to know." Whatever it was, he was sure he didn't want any knowledge of the insanity that crackpot was dealing in. He was a genius scientist, of course, but Kurotsuchi was also a lunatic.

"Very well. Let's have some tea. Isane?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Shunsui paused as he walked away from Jushiro's living quarters, his stomach sinking when he saw several spider-webbed cracks appearing on the window panes from the scorching reiatsu inside. He had to put his faith in Lucy, then. He had to trust that she would value the life of her brother over committing murder. Both Unohana and Yamamoto were backing her, in their own ways, and he trusted the two of them with his life. If they didn't think she could save Jushiro, he just knew this wouldn't be happening.

While he started moving again, he refused to meet Nanao's curious glare, and instead focused on the path before him. _'Please… Let this work…'_

" _Have faith,"_  Katen Kyokotsu whispered.  _"Master, have faith in what you don't yet understand. Just this once."_

" _I guess you're right…"_

" _Now, go and get some nice sake, so we can celebrate when he makes a full recovery."_

If there was one thing Shunsui loved about his zanpakuto, it was that she loved a good drink as much as him. A small smile appeared on his face, and Shunsui was able to feel some of the weight he hadn't realized had been bearing down on him disappear. Things would work out. He had to believe they would.

* * *

It was on the third morning of Lucy being cooped up in Jushiro's room that Shunsui was finally able to go in. Just as he'd woken up, crawling out of his bed and hating the existence of the sun, his lieutenant arrived to let him know that the kido barrier Unohana had placed was finally gone. The fourth division's captain was already on her way to check on Jushiro, and he was to report down there as soon as he could manage to pull himself together.

Really, just knowing that Lucy was done was more than enough motivation for Shunsui to jump up and get himself dressed. He didn't bother with his morning ritual of bathing and teasing Nanao, and disappeared in a flurry of flash steps before he'd even fully gotten his sandals on.

Once he arrived, holding his hat on top of his head, breathless, and barely containing his excitement, he rushed past everyone and saw Unohana walking out of the open door leading into Jushiro's living quarters. A single smile from the healer, and a miniscule nod, and he was laughing and running past her, then skidding to a stop by his friend's bed.

"Good morning, Shunsui," Jushiro laughed, his voice quiet and cracking slightly from disuse.

"You're really…" Shunsui shook his head, his smile widening by the second. Between one moment and the next, and not caring that he could hear Rukia and Nanao walking in, he lunged for the white-haired captain and tackled the man to the bed in a bear hug. "You're better!"

"Goodness," Jushiro laughed. "What's gotten into you? Did you find a new favorite sake?"

Shunsui shook his head as he felt tears burning their way to the edges of his lashes. "No, you idiot," he whispered. "I was so scared I'd lose you." He pulled back then, laughing as a tear slid down his cheek. If anyone could see him in a moment of true weakness like this, then Jushiro was the one. They'd been through pretty much everything together, and there was no one that Shunsui felt more comfortable letting his guard down with than his best friend.

And then, he really took in how the man who'd been minutes from death's door looked. Years seemed to have been taken off of him. His skin was still pale, but it didn't have the same sickly pallor it had once held. His cheeks were slightly pink and more full than before, instead of his nose from being wiped with a tissue too many times. The dark circles and bags under his eyes were gone - something that Shunsui couldn't remember having seen for the last century, at least. He looked so…  _alive_  right then. Even his white hair was shining a little more brightly. "She really did a number on you."

"Captain Unohana is very talented, Shunsui," Jushiro smiled. "I wouldn't expect-"

"No, not Captain Unohana," he frowned. And then, he slowly sat up and looked around the room. Everything was exactly as it had been three days prior, when he'd brought Lucy in and then was locked out by Unohana. Everything, except for the familiar, maroon yukata that was draped over the edge of the privacy screen around the bed. The same one that he'd handed to Lucy. "Where did she go?"

"Who?"

Shunsui frowned and looked to Nanao, then nodded as his eyes darkened slightly in agitation. "Search for her. Take Rukia, and let Captain Unohana know. Keep it quiet otherwise."

Nanao nodded, blinking in surprise at the deathly low tone in her captain's voice. She turned and rushed out with Rukia while whispering, "Would you mind telling me who we're looking for?"

When Shunsui looked back to Jushiro, a heavy sigh slipped past his thinned lips. "Jushiro, I… I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"Captain Unohana wasn't the one who healed you. She couldn't. I… I did everything I could to make sure you wouldn't die, even though everyone kept telling me that I needed to just accept there was nothing else to be done."

"I see," Jushiro sighed, his brow pushing together. "Knowing you, that wasn't an acceptable option."

"Right," Shunsui smirked. "And I found a way for you to be healed. So, I asked Yama-jii about it, and went to Central 46 to petition the release of a prisoner." When he saw the confusion in his friend's deep, brown eyes, Shunsui lowered his own gaze to the sheet still covering the man's hips. "There was a prisoner in Muken, sentenced to incarceration three hundred years ago…"

"Shunsui, you didn't…"

He nodded slowly, looking back into his friend's pained eyes. "A blonde woman with brown eyes and a bright smile… Your sister, Lucy."

"No," Jushiro whispered, his head lowering and his eyes sliding shut to lock in the pain he felt. "You… You didn't take her from prison. You couldn't have…"

"Did you not want her to get out?" Shunsui frowned. "She wanted to help you as soon as she found out  _you_  were the one that I was trying to save."

"She was in there for more than just murder, Shunsui!" Jushiro hissed, his teeth clenching slightly before he reined himself back in. "She was in there, because it was the best place for her. So she would be protected."

"Protected from what?"

"From monsters like Kurotsuchi that only want to treat her like a lab rat," the white-haired captain spat. "Snakes that only want the ability she has to make their allies immortal - even though that's not how it works. She's vulnerable, Shunsui. She could easily…" He paused then, looking up to the discarded yukata, the one he was sure now that Lucy had been wearing. It had been a gift from her when he had graduated from the Academy, one of the few gifts he'd received, and the only one he truly treasured. It wasn't expensive or fancy, but it was the small hand-stitched symbols on the inner left side that made it so he never wanted to get rid of it. His name, and hers, to show that she would always be with him, even though he was 'all grown up now'.

If Lucy wasn't wearing the yukata, then that would mean she was either back in the kimono she'd worn to her sentencing, or maybe she'd stolen a shihakusho to blend in among the other shinigami until she could get away. Either way, she wasn't there. He couldn't sense her reiatsu anywhere. "When was the last time you saw her?" Jushiro asked quickly.

"Uh, no one has seen you or her in three days. Unohana locked this place down when Lucy's reiatsu started going out of control."

"Out of control?"

"Yeah, red and pink reiatsu all over the place."

Jushiro shook his head then, his brow furrowing while he stood from the bed. "That's not supposed to happen. Shunsui, we have to find her."

"Well, yeah," Shunsui sighed in resignation. "She's out of prison, but I'm the one that's supposed to be her guardian. She's under my clan's protection."

"No," Jushiro said, discarding his yukata and moving with more purpose to dress himself in his shihakusho and haori. "You don't understand. I was ill…"

"I get that. I was here."

"Yes, you were. But, what you  _don't_  understand is that Lucy… She can't be alone right now!"

Shunsui frowned as he rushed out of the room with Jushiro, scurrying to keep up with the suddenly frantic captain. "What do you mean?"

Jushiro cursed under his breath, stopping once he was at the end of the walkway that led to his living quarters. He looked one way, then another, then closed his eyes and tried with everything he was worth to search for a trace of his sister's reiatsu. It had been so long since he'd felt it, but he knew it by heart, simply because of the amount of times that she'd willingly healed him when she was younger. "Let's just focus on finding her, Shunsui. She's… Lucy's…"

The brunette frowned and forcibly turned his friend to look at him, his frown deepening when all he could see was terror in his widened eyes. "We'll find her, Jushiro."

Jushiro took a steadying breath, then nodded as his resolve firmed. "We need to keep this between us," he said softly. "Nanao and Rukia, Captain Unohana… They already know, and there's no stopping that, but… The more people that realize she's out of prison, that know about her… She'll be in more danger than you can imagine."

"We'll find her," Shunsui repeated, gently squeezing Jushiro's arms before releasing him. "Yama-jii told me to keep information about her to a minimum with others, and that's what I'll do."

"Meet me at the gate to your home tonight," Jushiro said. "I know some of the places she used to go, and I'll check those. You…"

"I'll just do what I can," Shunsui nodded. "And if I find her, I'll take her back and-"

"If you find her first," Jushiro said with a scowl, "Take her to the nearest safe place, mask your reiatsu, and help her."

"Help her? What do you mean?"

"If you find her… You'll know what I mean." Without another word, he flash stepped away, leaving his friend standing there and staring contemplatively at the place he'd once been.

"What is he talking about? Help her?" Shunsui whispered to himself. He knew though, whatever Jushiro had been talking about, it really didn't bode well. The sinking feeling he got in the pit of his stomach, how it soured when he tried to think of the possibilities that awaited him, was enough to know that it was going to be a very long day.  _'I hope we find her soon… This wasn't supposed to turn out this way… Lucy, what were you thinking?'_

* * *

Well after night had fallen, Jushiro and Shunsui met up with one another at the Kyouraku clan's estate. Neither had had any luck in locating the blonde, and the tension was palpable in the air. Contact with Unohana, Rukia, and Nanao provided the same results. Lucy was gone without a trace, and apparently the last three hundred years in captivity had done nothing to deter her from improving her skills as much as she could with the knowledge she'd already gained in the Academy.

"She was always so interested in being a shinigami," Jushiro sighed as they made their way to Shunsui's quarters, both already knowing that - although they agreed upon seeing the somber expression on the others' face, they would try to regroup over a cup of tea - they were going to be having something a little stronger. Shunsui didn't even need to suggest it.

"That so?"

Jushiro nodded. "When I went to the Academy, I would go home to visit. Lucy would… She was always so happy to see me, to listen to my stories about learning kido or anything else. She watched me practice for hours…"

"And she went to the Academy, too," Shunsui said, a small smile on his lips. "Taking after big brother, huh?"

"In a sense," Jushiro whispered as they entered Shunsui's room. He watched as the other captain waved off his attendant with a sad smile, then Jushiro took a seat on the floor after opening a window to let the cool spring breeze flow into the room, waiting as the brunette gathered the sake and glasses. "She wanted to be free of the family," he continued as Shunsui sat down beside him, taking his cup once it was offered.

"How come?"

"Because…" Jushiro's eyes closed as a frown pulled down his lips. "They used her…"

"What?" Shunsui asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"At first, it was just our siblings," Jushiro whispered. "Someone would get hurt, and Lucy would help, because she didn't want them to be in pain. When more people found out, she helped them. It went on while I was away, because everyone knew that I didn't approve of her being used that way. And… Then when the Shiba clan found out… I don't know who it was that did it, and I pray that I never find the one responsible, but Lucy was locked up as though she was an animal, kept in a small room with no windows, and… They forced her to heal whomever they wished."

"The  _Shiba_  clan did that?" Shunsui asked incredulously.

"Someone within the clan," Jushiro nodded. "They reasoned that, because my family is a small branch of theirs, anyone's abilities were theirs to control. That included Lucy."

"I can't see them doing something like that though," Shunsui frowned, filling his cup and Jushiro's again once they were both empty. "The Shibas were always unorthodox, but they were pretty damn open-minded too."

"Not back then," Jushiro whispered. "I was only able to get her out because of Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and Captain Unohana. It bordered on crossing the boundary between the Gotei 13 and clan laws, but she was questioned by him. He asked if she wanted to become a shinigami, and Lucy jumped on the opportunity. She knew… She knew what it meant, that she would be free from them. And her goal, just as she'd told myself and him, was to be a part of Squad 4, to serve under Captain Unohana as a healer... Not with her ability, but normally."

"But, now she's out of prison," Shunsui mused. "So why would she run away? After healing you… I mean, she was pretty reluctant to do it in the first place when I told her what I wanted her to do, up until I mentioned that it was for you."

"I have no idea what would cause her to run, Shunsui," Jushiro sighed. He looked out the window, his sorrowful eyes reflecting the moon and stars above them. "When Lucy needed somewhere to go, someone to turn to, it was me. I was the only one that never asked her for help, because it was my duty - and my honor - to care for  _her_."

"So, when she could finally do something for you, she jumped on it," Shunsui added.

"Yes. Lucy has always been that way. She's caring and kind, and just… So naive sometimes… So sheltered…" Jushiro let out a slow breath, closing his eyes against the sudden ache deep within his soul. "I never wanted her to be in the prison. She didn't deserve it for what happened… But, I knew that at least… At least she would be safe there. No one could use her anymore. She wouldn't be hurt again."

"And now she's out there on her own, and we have no idea where to look for her." When he saw the white-haired captain nod, Shunsui sighed and set down his cup, then leaned back on his hands. He just couldn't piece this all together. Granted, he didn't know much about Lucy in the first place, but the more he learned, the less sense it made. "Jushiro…"

"Yes…"

"Why can't she be alone, anyway?"

"Did she not tell you how her healing ability works?" When Shunsui shook his head, Jushiro let out a long, heavy sigh. "Lucy is… special, Shunsui."

"I figured as much," he chuckled.

"Her ability is based on transferral. There's never been another like it from what we know. She can pull any afflictions out of a person - wounds, illnesses, anything. Even if it's a fatal wound, if someone is stabbed through the heart, she can draw the injuries from them... into herself. Whatever she takes is replaced with her own reiatsu, or something close to it, leaving the recipient perfectly healthy. As though there had never been anything wrong."

Shunsui's lips pursed in thought. "Wouldn't that kill her though?"

"She's oddly resilient," Jushiro whispered. "We never really understood all of what happens, but she won't die from someone else's maladies."

"So, you're telling me that she sucked whatever it was that made you so sick out, and just… swapped? Just like that?"

Jushiro nodded solemnly. "Yes, but there's more to it."

"More, how?" The fact that Lucy was able to do something like this, something so incredible, he was starting to see how others would find the advantage in that. It was remarkable, really.

"For an illness, when she 'swaps', as you put it, Lucy's taking that into herself. She's the one that bears the illness until it's destroyed in her body. She does it naturally over time, and she can bounce back from it with little difficulty more often than not. But with physical wounds… Those are more complicated." Jushiro turned his tormented gaze to his friend, letting the pain and guilt he'd felt for years over how he'd failed to protect her sit plainly on his face. "She refuses to heal them mostly, because they leave scars. If it's to save someone's life, she'll do it, but…"

"Damn," Shunsui sighed. After a moment, he scowled. "So, when she was being used by the Shibas, they didn't…"

"They did," Jushiro nodded. "Her body is littered with scars because of what they forced her to endure." He gave Shunsui only a moment to let the news sink in before his concern over Lucy's well-being mounted again. "This is so much worse though."

"How's it worse? She's sick, sure, but-"

"No matter what, Lucy needs reiatsu infusions to get herself back to normal. Without them, she… She won't bounce back. At least, not as quickly. It could take months for her to replenish her reiatsu enough for her body to reject whatever it was that made me sick. And, in that time, anything could happen to her."

"Why wouldn't she say anything about that?" Shunsui asked. When he thought back though, he remembered how she'd hesitated when he had been talking to her, just before she started healing Jushiro.

" _You're… You're really his sister?"_

" _Yes," Lucy whispered. "I'm the youngest, but… Onii-chan a-always… He always took care of me…"_

_Slowly, Lucy turned to look back into Shunsui's tormented gaze. She placed her free hand on his arm, a small shiver running through her as her fingers brushed over his skin. "I'll heal him," she whispered, a sad smile on her lips when his eyes cut over to hers._

" _You will?" he asked, still not believing the sudden stroke of luck he'd gotten. What more motivation could someone want to heal another, than for that person to be their older brother, someone they obviously cared a great deal about._

" _Yeah," she nodded. "It's going to take a few days to get it done, and…" Lucy paused, her lips thinning into a line._

" _And?" Shunsui asked._

_Lucy schooled her expression back into one of passivity, missing how Shunsui narrowed his eyes curiously at her. "And... I want a guarantee that I'll never go back to that prison."_

Lucy had hesitated before, like there was something more she'd wanted to tell him. Something had held her back though, and now he was left wondering if maybe that had been what it was. That there was a catch to what she was willing to do for her brother. Shunsui just couldn't understand why she would keep something like that to herself. If she needed infusions to stabilize herself afterwards, why would she run? Why wouldn't she just tell him, and be done with it? It wasn't as though he would turn down her help because of that.

Before Jushiro could answer, there was a loud thump just outside of the door that led to the gardens. The two captains turned with narrowed, suspicious eyes when there was a soft scrape, then another. Shunsui stood to find out what the noise was, and just as he took the first step, the sound of someone vomiting, rather violently, echoed through the still night air.

Jushiro scrambled to his feet and dashed outside as soon as he felt the faintest flicker of familiar reiatsu brushing against his senses. "Lucy!" There, on the ground, wearing a crumpled blue kimono with her hair matted and clumped by sweat, was his youngest sister. He watched, frozen for the briefest of moments, as her limbs gave out and she toppled to the ground, narrowly missing the puddled contents of her stomach that was mostly blood.

"O-Onii… chan…" Lucy's hazy eyes slid open as a violent shudder wracked her body, her fingers trembling as she tried in vain to reach for the blur that she knew was her eldest brother. She paused and turned her head as she coughed, her mouth filling with blood once again.

Shunsui backed into the room as Jushiro swiftly pulled the frighteningly frail blonde into his arms and carried her inside. He shut the door behind them, then followed as Jushiro laid her down on the bed. His first thought was to call his attendant, but he thought better of it and stayed silent until he knew what was happening.

"It's okay now, Lucy," Jushiro whispered. "Shunsui, I need a cloth and some cool water." Not a moment later, the cloth was in his hand and he carefully swiped the dirt and sweat from her face. The blood that had speckled her lips. Once she was cleaned up, at least a little, he sighed and set everything to the side and moved to start pulling her kimono off, just like he'd done countless times before when she needed help after healing someone. His brow furrowed when she pushed at his hands, and his eyes locked onto hers. "Lucy, you need an infusion."

"No," she whimpered, her breath rattling in her chest. "Y-You'll get sick…"

"I won't let you suffer."

"Onii-chan, y-you know I can't…" Her words halted as a thick cough wracked her trembling body. "C-Can't…"

His eyes widened as he realized what she was trying to say, what he hadn't thought of before. His hands drew away from her quickly, and he watched as she slumped against the mattress and curled her arms around herself. "You can't have an infusion from the person you healed…"

"Why didn't you just say that before?" Shunsui asked as the blonde nodded weakly.

Lucy swallowed the rising bile in her throat as Jushiro placed a cool cloth on her forehead after pushing her bangs out of the way. Her eyes slid open, and she gave the brunette a trembling, resigned smile. "N-No one would want to… touch a murderer… l-like me…"

"What?" he whispered with a frown. "What do you mean, 'touch'?"

Jushiro carefully blotted the sweat from her brow again, making sure his skin didn't come into contact with hers. "The infusion works based on skin contact," he explained. "It's the same as when she heals someone. Lucy puts her back against their chest, but it has to be skin to skin. And the more contact there is, the faster it works."

"And you can't do it?" Shunsui asked worriedly.

"No," Jushiro sighed. "If I tried, I would pull the illness right back into myself." He gazed down at the blonde when she whimpered again, seeing the pain in her dazed eyes. "Lucy, there has to be something we can do…"

"I-I'll be… fine…"

"No," he insisted, kneeling at her side. "You need help. I can contact Captain Unohana. You know she'll help you."

"N-No… can't bother… I-I can't…" Lucy gulped as dark spots danced across her already hazy vision. "Please…"

"You don't trust her?" he whispered incredulously.

When Lucy shook her head, Shunsui looked to Jushiro. "Who did her infusions before?"

"Me," he replied, never taking his eyes from the blonde. "I was the only one that could do it, because it takes an immense amount of reiatsu to help return her to normal."

"B-Burned them, Onii-chan. I-It burns…"

"What burns?"

"Spirit… centers..." She whimpered and clenched her eyes tightly against the pain, feeling the foreign reiatsu swirling wildly within her and wriggling from her spirit centers, down to her fingers and toes. Her head was swimming, and the voice of her zanpakuto was muffled more every minute.

The air was thick with tension as the two captains watched the blonde, but Shunsui was stuck trying to figure out just how they could help her. And why she would have run off in the first place.

" _N-No one would want to… touch a murderer… l-like me…"_

But Shunsui knew that her status as a prisoner wouldn't change anything. She could still get help. Was it just that she didn't trust anyone but her brother to help her? Because Jushiro had been the one to protect her before? There wasn't a thing that he could do for his sister then, aside from watch her suffer.

"Please," Jushiro whispered, his voice pained and quiet. "Let me just-"

"I'll do it," Shunsui said, taking a step forward and ignoring the slight flush to his cheeks that rose at the thought of holding the breathtaking blonde in his arms. Any reaction to how attractive he found her to be had to stay hidden, because that wasn't what this was about. Still, he'd never been able to  _not_  notice a beautiful woman before.

Lucy's bleary eyes widened in shock. "Y-You don't know what you're… You c-can't…"

"Lucy," Jushiro whispered, "He can do this. Shunsui is just as powerful as I am. Please, let him help you when I can't."

"Will I get sick, too?" Shunsui asked as an afterthought. Really, he wouldn't mind all that much if he did. It was a small price to pay for his friend, and for Lucy, to get through this. He could see just how much it pained the white-haired man that he couldn't take Lucy's pain away, that it couldn't be  _him_  to help her because she had done this for him.

"No, the illness will be smothered as her reiatsu stabilizes. Once Lucy takes it into herself, her body gets rid of it…"

"B-But…" Lucy whimpered as her vision clouded further. She shivered when a sudden chill rippled down her spine, but the rest of her was burning. "N-No…"

"Rest, Lucy," Jushiro whispered. "Let us take care of you." As he pulled the blanket up over her, he let out a slow breath and started to work on removing her kimono to bare her back. "Shunsui, you saw how she did this. You'll need to do the same thing."

"Right," Shunsui nodded, turning to make his way to his closet and grab a yukata for himself. With how late it was, and how long it had taken for Lucy to heal Jushiro, he could only assume that he would want to be as comfortable as possible while he helped the blonde. Just before he left the room to change - though he usually just got dressed in front of his closet, because it was only himself and his attendant in the room - he grabbed a second yukata and took it over to the bed. "In case you wanna make her more comfortable."

A small whimper sounded from the blonde as Shunsui walked out of the room, and she tried to force her eyes open to look at her brother when she felt him undressing her further. "Onii… chan…"

"It's alright, Lulu," Jushiro whispered. He sighed as her skin was bared, barely taking in the sight of the scars running down her arms, over her chest and stomach, and the few that sat on her legs. The sight of his sister without a stitch of clothing only hurt him, because the proof of how tormented she'd been by their own flesh and blood was written in her flesh. He tied the yukata, leaving her torso bare, then carefully pulled the sleeves up to drape over her breasts. "You can come out now, Shunsui."

Shunsui's brow was furrowed as he walked out, and he quietly took his place at the blonde's back, pulling his sleeves down and letting the top part of his robe pool around his hips. "You're sure this is the only way to do it?" he asked Jushiro, staring at the sheet he'd already pulled over his lap.

"I am sure. Please lay down, Shunsui. It's getting worse."

Shunsui nodded, then turned and settled himself behind the sweating, trembling blonde. He didn't dare to look at her, though. Oh, he wanted to, more than anything, but this was his best friend's sister, and he was simply helping her. It wasn't often, if ever, that the brunette had really laid in a bed with a woman like this. Sure, he'd taken plenty of women  _to_  his bed, and they had fallen asleep together, but he'd never wrapped himself around one as he was with Lucy. As he shifted to get a little more comfortable, pushing his arm under her slender waist, he realized that she wasn't moving with him. She was breathing, although it was labored and shallow, but it seemed she just didn't have the energy anymore.

Once Shunsui's arms were around her, Jushiro carefully laced their fingers together. "Good," he whispered. "That's good."

"Glad to know I'm holding a woman right," Shunsui chuckled, trying in vain to break the tension in the room.

"Now, just…" Jushiro paused and let out an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck like Lucy did from time to time. "Well, how do I put this…"

"What?" Shunsui asked carefully. "Y'know, this  _is_  a little weird, considering you just got me into bed with your sister…"

After a small, nervous chuckle - although his eyes were narrowed aggressively - Jushiro shook his head. "Well, you just, um… You need to act like Captain Zaraki for a minute."

"... What?"

"Don't hold your reiatsu back," Jushiro shrugged. "You won't hurt her."

"Are you serious?" When Jushiro nodded, Shunsui frowned. Still, he figured the guy knew more about what was going on, and he needed to trust that. "I won't hurt her?"

"No, you won't," Jushiro assured him.

"Alright," Shunsui sighed. His eyes slid closed and he pulled the mostly unconscious blonde just a little closer to himself as he released the tight leash he kept on his own power. His eyes shot open only a moment later when he felt as though the very center of his soul was being ripped from him. A sharp gasp left the captain while he watched waving tendrils of deep violet reiatsu pouring off of him and arcing into the blonde in his arms.

"Just breathe," Jushiro whispered, kneeling by the bed. "It takes a moment to get used to this."

"Y-You think?" Shunsui hissed breathlessly. His grip on Lucy's hands tightened slightly as a quiet moan of relief left her chapped lips. Slowly, much more slowly than he would have liked, the vortex inside levelled and all he could see was a thin violet aura with a hint of pink in its center surrounding himself and Lucy. "This is… just crazy," he whispered.

"Not crazy, Shunsui," Jushiro sighed. "And please don't let Lucy hear you say that. How are you feeling?"

"Weird," Shunsui amended with a frown. "I can feel the pull on my reiatsu, but it's like I'm meditating, almost."

Jushiro nodded in approval. "Good. If you feel drained at any point, or any discomfort, you need to just move so she's not touching as much of your skin. Maintain contact with her, but lessen it until you're comfortable."

"Got it."

"You should get some rest, Shunsui. Lucy already is."

He chuckled quietly. "Now you're telling me to  _sleep_  with your sister. You sure I haven't fallen and hit my head? Maybe this is all some illusion?"

"It is not an illusion," Jushiro laughed. "I will be by to check on you in the morning, but… Please, don't let her out of bed for anything until I've returned."

"What am I supposed to do if I have to use the bathroom?"

"I think you'll be able to hold off until I've come back, Shunsui."

"Sure…"

Jushiro carefully stood and checked to make sure his zanpakuto was settled properly. "Get some sleep. I'll have your attendant see that you aren't disturbed."

"Good. Thanks, Jushiro."

"No, thank you, Shunsui," he smiled, turning and walking toward the door leading to the hallway. Just before he opened it, he paused, his eyes narrowing. "Oh, and… If you even  _think_  of acting inappropriately with her…"

Shunsui gulped as he felt the other captain's reiatsu spike in warning.

"I'll cut it off and throw it to the Cleaner, Shunsui," Jushiro hissed. "Don't defile my little sister." With that out of the way, he smirked and left the room, listening to his friend mutter under his breath for only a moment before he turned and started walking away.

 


	3. Show Me How to Heal

 

It was just before the sun broke over the horizon the following morning that Shunsui came awake. Slowly, he rose back into consciousness, although everything was still fuzzy from the night before. A soft puff of breath across his chest had a lazy smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth, and his arms wound a little more tightly around the soft, smaller body that was pressed to his.

A quiet, contented moan floated up from the lips that were a hairsbreadth away from his chest, and he felt a soft pulse of reiatsu as thin fingers danced along his side before resting on his back. His eyes slowly opened after several long minutes of basking in the gentle touches of the mysterious woman in his bed, and it was when he saw the deep purple of his own reiatsu melding with a soft pink that he finally remembered just who he was holding. And just how wrong it was for him to be so aroused as her leg slid between his.

Lucy's breath hitched quietly as more contact was made with their flesh, her eyes staying closed as she drifted well beneath reality.

Shunsui gulped and shifted so the blonde woman was lying on her stomach, letting out a heavy breath when he realized that his arm was pinned under her, just centimeters below her generous bust. "This is so wrong," he whispered to himself, rolling onto his back as a sudden bout of nausea rippled through him. Clearly, the amount of reiatsu that he'd been supplying Lucy with overnight as they slept had been more than he'd really anticipated.

He didn't want to just let up on how much he was putting out, and he wasn't necessarily  _drained_  right then, but the fact of the matter was that he just didn't know what he was supposed to do. Especially not when all he really  _could_  do for the time being was listen to her soft breathing. She at least sounded much better than she had the night before.

Shunsui wasn't sure how long he laid there, just staring at the ceiling above his bed, before he sensed a sudden dip in the blonde's reiatsu. He frowned and rolled onto his side, pressing himself against her again and shuddering as he felt more power being drained from him. And that was when he really took a look at her. At least, the four long scars that ran from her shoulders down to the small of her back.

The captain hadn't been paying all that much attention to what Lucy looked like under her clothing the night before, because he was trying to avoid seeing too much of his best friend's sister, but now… Now he couldn't help but stare at her pale skin and the scars that were several shades darker and more than an inch thick, each. Was this what Jushiro had meant when he'd said that she was used to heal others? How she would pull physical wounds from whomever she was healing and have a scar as the result?

It sickened him to think that someone would really subject a person to this kind of torture, especially now that he knew just what the consequences were and the price that she paid for it. But, he wondered if it was a matter of no one knowing that scars would be left on her, or if they simply had known but hadn't cared. His free hand lifted and he lightly touched one of the scars, then another. Everyone in the Gotei 13 had scars, sure, but these unnerved him. Lucy had still been just a student in the Academy when she was incarcerated, so she wouldn't have been out facing hollows or doing much in the way of fighting something that could give her the marks he saw. Which meant these had been someone else's injuries.

' _Jushiro said that…'_

Before the thought could finish forming, there was a soft knock on his door that marked the arrival of his attendant, Iwao. Not a moment later, just as he was pulling the blanket up and over Lucy's back, the young man silently opened the door.

"Good morning, Shunsui-sama," Iwao said as he brought in a tray with two cups of tea and two plates for breakfast. "Captain Ukitake informed me last night that you and your guest might like something small to eat this morning."

Shunsui chuckled, his eyes softening while watching the caramel-skinned attendant make his way across the room to set the tray on a nightstand. "Thanks, Iwao." The fact that he didn't even bat an eye over what he was seeing - not the fact that there was a woman in Shunsui's bed, but the reiatsu that was still surrounding both himself and Lucy - was just a testament to his character and his understanding that he needed to keep any oddities he saw quiet.

Iwao paused and bowed quietly, then smiled while looking down at Lucy. "So, this is the woman that healed him?"

"How did you hear about that?"

Keen onyx eyes turned to the Squad 8 captain. "Captain Ukitake said, as your attendant, I should know what I would be walking into this morning."

Another quiet laugh bubbled up in Shunsui's throat. "Yeah," he sighed. "Probably for the best."

"Will she be staying long, Shunsui-sama?"

"Indefinitely," he nodded. "Part of getting her released was having the clan take responsibility for her. She's my ward now."

Iwao's eyes widened slightly as he looked down at the blonde again. "Released?"

"Jushiro didn't tell you about that, did he…" When the attendant shook his head, his long, raven hair brushing lightly across his shoulders, Shunsui let out a slow breath while looking down at Lucy. "She was a prisoner. I had her released and pardoned."

"I see."

Shunsui's eyebrows drew together slightly while looking back up at his attendant. "I'd prefer if you don't tell anyone about this, or her, Iwao. It's a very precarious position I've put the clan in, doing this."

"Of course, Shunsui-sama," Iwao nodded quickly. "I would never-"

"That includes your sister," Shunsui smirked. It was no secret that Iwao told his twin sister everything. "Although…"

"Yes, Shunsui-sama?"

"When Lucy wakes up, and after I've talked with Jushiro…" Shunsui paused for a moment, then nodded to himself. "I'll be talking with Ishiko later."

"I-Is she in trouble?"

"No," he laughed. "Nothing like that. Just something that I think she would be well-suited for. A new job for her."

"Oh," Iwao grinned. "I'm sure she'll love that! Ishiko is always telling me that she would love for you to give her more to do. She… wants you to trust her, as you trust me."

"I do trust her," Shunsui said softly as Jushiro appeared in the doorway, a quiet smile on the white-haired captain's face. "Your family has always been loyal, Iwao. I just haven't found the perfect job for her just yet."

"Well, I'm sure she'll be happy with whatever you choose, Shunsui-sama," Iwao said. He turned and greeted Jushiro with a bow. "Captain Ukitake, good morning."

"Good morning, Iwao," Jushiro said as he walked into the room to kneel next to the bed.

Shunsui watched as Iwao made his way out of the room, closing the door silently behind him, then looked at his friend. "Morning, Jushiro."

"How is she?" Jushiro whispered, an edge of concern in his voice and eyes.

"Well, I'm not really sure how this all works, but her reiatsu dropped pretty fast a little bit ago when I moved away from her."

"You maintained contact?"

"Yeah, she was laying on my arm. I felt pretty queasy when I rolled onto my back though."

"That is odd," Jushiro scowled. "How long after you moved did it drop?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Shunsui sighed. "I was just laying here, spaced out for a little bit, and then it happened."

"She should have already woken up," Jushiro whispered. "And you said you felt nauseous?"

"Yeah, right after I rolled her onto her stomach."

"Shunsui, this…" Jushiro shook his head as his eyes grew distant. "This isn't right."

"What do you mean, 'not right'?"

"I can't be sure, but I think her running away only made the illness she pulled from me attack her body more aggressively." He paused and watched curiously as Lucy whimpered and rolled so her chest was pressed against Shunsui's, his eyes narrowing as her slender arm wound around the captain's waist.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Shunsui said defensively. "I woke up with her like this. It's why I moved her in the first place." Was he going to mention just how  _aware_  his body was of the blonde? Not at all. Jushiro really didn't need to know that the effects of it being morning were only compounded by her young body and silken skin shifting restlessly against him.

"This was how she was…" Jushiro's scowl deepened as the reiatsu surrounding the two in the bed swelled and started to pulse slightly. "What in kami's name…"

Shunsui looked down to see Lucy's brow furrowed as a strong shudder wracked her body.

"I think…" Jushiro sighed and shook his head as he pulled one cup of tea from the tray and handed it to Shunsui. "It might take longer than we'd anticipated. If Lucy is having a hard time getting rid of this, then it has to mean that her running away and not getting an infusion right afterwards really let it settle in."

"Does that usually happen?"

"No. But she's never had to deal with something this extensive before."

"She'll… She'll be okay though, right?"

"Yes," Jushiro nodded, taking a sip of the other cup of tea present and failing to ignore the pained whimper from his sister on the bed. "It seems we'll just have to be a little more patient. The last time she healed someone was…"

"Before she was locked up."

"Right," Jushiro nodded. "Several hundred years."

"Well, could we maybe call Captain Unohana?" Shunsui paused to take a sip of his tea. Then another. "She might be able to speed up Lucy's healing."

"That would work," Jushiro sighed, "If she didn't react negatively to kido."

"What do you mean?"

"It's part of the reason Lucy didn't want Captain Unohana healing her. I realized it after I left last night. Well, more like I remembered…" He quietly took the empty cup from Shunsui and placed it back on the tray, then carefully set the tray on the bed just behind Lucy so Shunsui could eat while holding her. "Healing kido, what we all use and what Squad 4 specializes in, hurts Lucy when it's used on her. Think of it like an allergic reaction. Once it enters her body, I can only guess that her own power sees it as a threat, and starts fighting it."

"She's… allergic to kido."

"Yes," Jushiro nodded. "It makes her violently ill… Almost like…" His eyes widened as he thought of how they'd found Lucy the night before. "Like last night…"

"But, I thought that was from her healing you."

"I may have coughed up blood on occasion, but, Shunsui… I never  _vomited_  blood. And Lucy has never reacted so strongly to healing someone with her ability."

"So, what. You're saying that someone used kido to heal her? And it did  _that_  to her?"

"I can't be sure," Jushiro whispered, his eyes straying to the blonde again. "It might have been from the illness she took from me, but…"

"What?" Shunsui asked, pushing the unfinished breakfast away as Lucy shifted and pushed one leg between his.

"Well, Lucy was supposed to join Squad 4 after she graduated. She was especially gifted in healing people, Shunsui… Even with kido..."

"You're not saying…"

Jushiro nodded, his eyes growing distant and the expression on his paling face haunted. "I think Lucy used kido on herself, knowing that it would kill her. With her body already compromised by what she took from me, she wouldn't be able to fight back against anything else. And, if an injury to her body is her own, and not pulled from someone else, then she  _can_  die from it."

"So, you're telling me she was trying to commit suicide after she healed you?" Shunsui asked incredulously. "That's insane, Jushiro."

"I don't want to believe it either, Shunsui," he sighed heavily. "But I see no other explanation…"

"Unless someone saw her and maybe tried helping her."

"She would have been taken to the fourth division to be treated," Jushiro reasoned. "I don't… I can't think about this…"

"Hey," Shunsui whispered, his brow pinching in concern. "When she wakes up, we'll talk to her about it, alright?" When Jushiro nodded silently, he sighed and wrapped his arms around the blonde a little more tightly. Luckily, when he increased the power she was absorbing, the contented moan that left her lips was muffled by her face being buried in his chest. It was a shame that the noise sent a jolt of excitement right down to his groin.

"Don't over-exert yourself."

"Don't worry about me," Shunsui grinned. "I get to take some time off for this. Yama-jii sent me a hell butterfly yesterday while we were searching for Lucy, letting me know that I just needed to make a request and it'd be approved. I just figured it was because he knew I'd be a little busy getting her acclimated to everything."

"That's very generous of him."

"Definitely, but it also means that, no matter how long it takes to get her back on her feet and moving around, I'm covered. And if I need another day or so to recuperate, then so be it."

"I suppose," Jushiro sighed. "I wish I could stay longer, but now that I'm better, I have to handle things at the division."

"Poor Rukia-chan has been doin' it all on her own, huh," Shunsui chuckled. "She'd make a good captain one day."

"That would be if Byakuya would allow it," Jushiro smirked. "I was given a rather long lecture about what he would do if anything happened to her when I told him she was being promoted."

"He  _lectured_ you?"

"With his eyes," Jushiro laughed. "I could feel him burning holes through me with that glare of his."

"He's pretty protective of her, huh…"

"Yes, just as I am with Lucy."

Shunsui gave his friend a soft smile of understanding. "I won't let anything happen to her, Jushiro. You know you can trust me."

"I do," Jushiro nodded. "I do not, however, have to like the fact that you are nearly naked with her."

"You're the one that made me lay like this," Shunsui countered. "Don't worry, I don't plan on trying to seduce your sister."

"Good. The last thing she needs is-"

"No worries," Shunsui smiled easily. "Go take care of what you need to, and I'll keep doing what I'm doing here. If there's any change, I'll let you know."

Jushiro gave Lucy one last long look, his eyes slightly pained and his back rigid as he forced himself to remain composed. He had to trust that Lucy was in good hands, and if anyone could care for her when he couldn't, it was Shunsui. "Any change at all," he whispered. "There shouldn't be anything different now. Her reiatsu  _should_  stay stable, and-"

"Jushiro," Shunsui insisted gently. "I'll take care of her." He watched as Jushiro nodded one last time, then slowly turned and left the room.

It was silent in the eighth division captain's bedroom, save for his and Lucy's quiet breathing and the occasional sigh of comfort from her full lips. After Iwao came in some time later to remove the dishes from breakfast, Shunsui finally allowed himself to look down at the blonde. Every time he shifted just a little bit, she would compensate for it and keep herself pressed against his flesh. It helped to make sure he couldn't see anything that he really shouldn't be seeing in the first place, but it also made it exceedingly difficult to keep himself from  _feeling_  everything. The only consolation was that she was at least able to move, where she hadn't been capable of even that by the time he'd laid down to start the infusion.

His fingers gently pushed a few stray golden strands behind her ear, then swiped away the beads of sweat on her brow. He could see just a little bit of blood still speckling the inside of her lower lip, how pale she'd gotten since the last time he'd seen her. But more than the signs that she'd obviously been worn down from healing Jushiro, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was. Any man that ended up with her would definitely be more than happy, that much he was sure of. And even then, an odd sense of protectiveness over Lucy rose up from somewhere he couldn't name.

It had to be because she was his best friend's sister, and that he knew Jushiro had entrusted Lucy's safety to him. There was no other reason for it.  _'Besides,'_  he thought,  _'I have to keep her safe, as my ward.'_

And even as that thought planted itself in his head, he was instantly reminded of what Jushiro had said about what had happened to her.

"Lucy-chan," Shunsui sighed, letting his eyes slide closed as he tightened his grip on the blonde, "I don't want to believe that you'd kill yourself and leave Jushiro behind like this. Not when he just got you back… I just… I hope he's wrong…"

* * *

Bleary brown eyes slid open as familiar fingers lightly brushed through her hair, and the black-haired man sighed as his deep onyx eyes stayed locked onto her face. "There's my girl," Chinogishiki whispered tenderly.

"Chino… What…" As Lucy's vision cleared, all she could focus on was the sad smile on her zanpakuto spirit's face, the torment showing plainly for her to see as he hovered above her. "Wh-What…"

"I'm still here, Lucy," he said, his fingers trailing down her cheek while he made sure his master was comfortable where she rested in his lap. "I've gotcha."

"B-But I don't want to be here anymore," she whispered, her breath hitching as tears sprung to her eyes. "I wanted it all to end."

"I know that," he nodded. "But, look around. Look what's happened…"

Lucy sniffled and slowly turned her head, a full sob cracking in her chest as she took in the devastation her inner world had gone through. Where there had once been an enormous field with lush, emerald grass and a dozen sakura trees in full bloom, all that was left was a desolate wasteland. The trees were black and lifeless, with not a single blossoming petal on the spindling branches. The grass was gone, replaced with a frozen, rocky terrain that dug into her back painfully. The pale grey sky with clouds that never moved had disappeared, and in its place was an endless array of pitch black clouds that hung low overhead.

Everything around her was colored in a sickly green that chilled the blonde to the bone.

"You see?" Chinogishiki whispered as Lucy turned her head toward him again. " _This_  is what happens when you try to do something like that. I… I felt all of it, Lucy. I know you're hurting, and you just wanted it to be done, but this? You know that if you die, I will too…"

She shook her head and scrambled to kneel before the terrifyingly calm zanpakuto spirit. This, in and of itself, made her feel worse than anything. She could handle him being angry, throwing a bucket of water on her, maybe even punching her right in the throat for being an idiot - he'd done all three in a matter of seconds on multiple occasions - but this? He was level-headed for a change, quiet. "I-I know that, I just… I-I…"

"You didn't want to hurt anymore," he nodded as she lunged forward and hugged him. As his arms encircled her slender waist, he let out a slow breath while resting his head on her breasts. "I get that, Lucy. You deserve to be happy, and everything else. Not for people to use you. I know that better than even your brother."

Lucy's body shook with the force of her anguished cries and she simply held him tighter while her tears trickled down into his hair.

"But, would you really want to leave your brother behind? He just got you back, Lucy. After all this time."

"I-I know that…"

"And you know that he'll be heartbroken if he finds out that you poisoned yourself with kido," he chided her gently.

"I did my job though," she whimpered. "Now they'll just send m-me back, and… Chinogishiki, I-I can't go back there again!"

"And I won't let you," he scowled, raising his head to look deeply into her puffy, brown eyes. "I'll  _always_  protect you, Lucy. And I'll kill anyone that tries to get in my way."

"Y-You know I can't l-let you do that…"

"Whether you  _let_  me or not," he growled, his eyes shifting slightly to a more reddish hue. "I'll do what I have to. You're my whole reason for living, and I'll stop at nothing to-"

"Stop," she sniffled, moving so her cheek was resting against his and their chests were pressed together. "Just stop, okay?"

"Those bastards made you like this," he spat. "They made you want to die. You can't blame me for hating all of them."

"No, and I won't," she said after a shuddering breath. "But just… I-I just need you to hold me, Chinogishiki. P-Please?"

He blinked in surprise when she moved once more to curl up in his lap, her fingers quickly loosening the knotted white material that was draped over his shoulder, then the buttons of his jacket. "Lucy?"

Her fingers danced along the pale flesh of his chest and stomach, then around his sides until he stopped her and looked questioningly into her eyes. "Just… hold me," she breathed.

Chinogishiki's brow furrowed as she gently pulled his hands to the tie on her deep green yukata, but his fingers seemed to do just what she wished. Once her body was bare, with the blonde pushing his jacket down his arms until it was pooled on the ground, the zanpakuto spirit let his gaze travel over her every curve. Every imperfection in her flesh that he'd been there to witness, that he'd experienced with her. "I'll always hold you, love," he whispered.

Lucy shivered as his hands trailed down her waist to her hips, then smiled sadly when the spirit simply pushed her legs off to one side and tucked her into his chest. The white material she'd untied was lifted from the ground and wrapped around the two of them, and all she could do was bask in the comforting embrace of the one she knew would always care about her. "Am I still beautiful?" she asked.

He smiled then, lifting her chin and tenderly kissing one corner of her lips. "Always," he chuckled. "I'll never see you as anything but the most beautiful woman in the world."

"Thank you," she whispered, a sad smile on her face. "At least  _you_  will…"

"Always," he whispered back, watching as her eyes slid closed and she fell into a restful sleep in his arms. He sighed softly and looked out across the tattered remnants of Lucy's inner world, then up to the sky where a thin shaft of purple light broke through the clouds and touched down on the ground just next to them.

"I might not like it," he mused, "But that captain is your only hope of waking up. I just hope he sees what I do in you, Lucy…"

* * *

It was after Shunsui had finished with lunch that he finally had Iwao bring his twin sister, Ishiko, to the bedroom. He hadn't wanted to talk with her about what was on his mind until after Lucy had woken up, but it seemed she was going to be out of it for a while longer, and he needed some help.

"Good afternoon, Shunsui-sama," Ishiko said with a low bow. She slowly stood, then demurely tucked a stray strand of her shoulder length black hair behind her ear while she waited for him to speak.

"Iwao, Ishiko, I'll be needing your help with something," he sighed.

"Of course, Shunsui-sama," the twins said in unison.

"Well, Lucy-chan here is still unconscious, and we both need to bathe," he said. While he continued talking, he carefully pulled the blonde to sit up with him, keeping his eyes locked onto Iwao's instead of Lucy's bared breasts that were partially hidden by his chest.

"Sh-Shunsui-sama," Ishiko sputtered, her caramel cheeks coloring slightly. "Is she alright? Should we call the healer?"

"She's just a little sick," he said. He carefully stood up, then wobbled on weakened legs and smiled as Iwao and Ishiko steadied him. "I'll have to keep touching her, but I'm not going to wash her myself."

"Of course not," Ishiko smiled. "I'd be happy to assist you, Shunsui-sama."

Iwao moved and opened the door to the bathroom, smirking and rolling his eyes over his sister's behavior while his back was turned. "Do you know when she'll wake up?"

"Not a clue," Shunsui replied as the twins helped him walk into the bathroom. It was obvious that the extra power he'd been putting out to help her heal a little faster had really drained him. To the point of weakness in his limbs. How he was still managing to hold Lucy in his arms was beyond him, but the Squad 8 captain was just going to go with the flow. "What I do know is that we'll both probably feel a little better after a nice bath."

"She won't get you sick by being like this, will she?" Ishiko asked as she turned on the water to fill the bathtub and added the scented oils her clan leader loved.

"No," he chuckled. "I'm helping her heal, Ishiko."

She paused and blinked while looking at him, her eyes straying downward as Iwao pulled off the yukata Shunsui had worn to bed. Luckily for her, Shunsui wasn't looking at her, so she was able to compose herself and turned back to the bath until the sudden heat in her cheeks had diminished. "Is that what that odd glowing is?"

"Ishiko," Iwao sighed with a frown, "You ask too many questions."

"Oh, it's alright," Shunsui chuckled, sitting on the small stool by the bath once Iwao had placed a towel over his legs to rest Lucy on. The fact that the raven-haired attendant had realized the predicament Shunsui was in, and that he really needed to maintain some physical distance from the blonde in any way he could, was a blessing. "And yes, Ishiko. I'm feeding her my reiatsu to help her heal. Lucy-chan here burned her spirit centers while healing Jushiro."

"She…" Ishiko's hand slipped on the knob for the bath as she turned it off, but she quickly composed herself and looked at Shunsui with widened eyes. "Captain Ukitake has been healed?" she whispered, a smile edging onto her face.

Shunsui nodded, his eyes closing as Iwao started washing his back. "I can just hold her hand if that's easier for you to clean her, Ishiko," he whispered. "But I can't lose contact with her."

"Not to worry, Shunsui-sama," the woman smiled, her eyes that were identical to her brother's glimmering happily. "Iwao and I will take care of you both."

"When Lucy wakes up," he said after a time, once he and Lucy had been rinsed and he settled them in the steaming water to soak for a bit, "Ishiko, I want you to be her attendant."

"E-Excuse me?" she stuttered with widened eyes.

He nodded and shifted so Lucy was curled up in his lap, with a towel still over his hips and her cheek resting against his shoulder, then sunk down a little lower into the water when she shivered. "Lucy is my ward, now," he whispered. "And, because she's been placed under the clan's protection, she'll need an attendant. Especially since she was locked in Muken for the past few centuries."

"Muken!" Ishiko nearly screeched, her eyes narrowing when her brother threw a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Shunsui sighed and leaned his head back, chuckling when Iwao placed a folded towel down for his head to rest on. "Yes, Lucy-chan was locked in Muken. Her identity, where she came from, everything is to stay quiet. I'm sure people will wonder where she came from, but-"

"Shunsui-sama," Ishiko said, pulling her brother's hand from her lips. "There are already whispers of her being a criminal, but not what level she was imprisoned in."

"There are?" Iwao asked with a frown.

"Yes," Ishiko nodded, her eyes darkening while looking down at the blonde. "But if she was in Muken, this can end very badly for the clan…"

"And that is why I'm asking  _you_  to be her attendant," Shunsui sighed. "Lucy-chan has been imprisoned for so long, and I'm sure she'll be glad to have someone to even talk to if I'm not available."

"I-" Ishiko began, looking to Shunsui in surprise as he spoke again.

"I don't trust anyone else to do this, Ishiko," he said quietly. "Iwao has been my attendant for years now, and I know you want to do something more substantial to help. This is your job, now. Help her get acclimated to life outside of the prison, spend time with her."

"Y-You trust me to…"

"I do. I told Iwao earlier, your family has been nothing but loyal over the last few generations, and I know that you both are the same. I hadn't known where your talents would be best suited, but I think this is a good start."

"Of c-course, Shunsui-sama," Ishiko whispered as happy tears came to her eyes. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," he chuckled. "Come get us in a little bit, alright? I'm just gonna relax."

The twin attendants nodded and as they stood and made their way to leave, Ishiko frowned and looked down at the blonde woman again. "Shunsui-sama?"

"Hm?"

"If Lucy-san was in prison, then does that mean she has nothing?"

"I guess so…"

"Would it be alright if I had some clothing purchased for her?"

Shunsui's small smile widened as he looked at the tall woman, then to her brother's proud smile. The twins were terrifyingly identical, with the only exceptions being that Iwao was a few inches taller than her and that his jaw was a little more squared than her narrow one. They had the same black, almond-shaped eyes, raven hair that hung to their shoulders, exotic caramel skin. The same high cheekbones and full lips, straight nose, and even the same athletic build - with Ishiko having some of the loveliest curves he'd seen, while Iwao was more like a swimmer.

"That's a great idea, Ishiko," Shunsui nodded. "Thanks for thinking of that."

"It's my job as her attendant, ne?" she giggled, a soft blush on her cheeks.

"It is," he laughed. Once the twins had left the bathroom, his arms wound around Lucy just a little more tightly and his eyes slid shut as he let the soothing scents of lavender and lilac fill his sinuses. After another several silent minutes, he summoned a hell butterfly and sent a message to his lieutenant, asking that she bring any paperwork he needed to handle by the estate and leave it with Iwao.

Nanao wasn't going to be too happy that he hadn't shown up, and he could only assume that someone had intercepted her from coming and waking him up that morning as she tended to do sometimes. But, he hoped that him asking for the work that they both knew he hated doing would be enough of a sign that he wasn't just being lazy.

' _Maybe I should tell her what's really going on,'_  he thought.  _'Then again, maybe not…'_  Enough people already knew about Lucy, and the more he could keep the information hidden and to himself, the better. Yamamoto  _had_  told him to be careful in who he allowed to know about the blonde, and he had to remember that not everyone who found about about her ability would react to it with understanding.  _'I'll keep her safe though. I promised I would…'_

* * *

A soft sigh left Lucy's lips as she finally regained consciousness, feeling more rejuvenated than she had in a long time. There had been a weariness in her bones and muscles that she hadn't noticed before, but in its absence she was much more aware of how wonderful she felt. At least, her body did.

Warm breaths puffed out slowly across her scalp, and that was when she felt the pair of strong arms wrapped around her and calloused fingers resting on her scarred back. The hairs on his arms tickled her skin, but it was oddly comforting to feel something so different. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she allowed them to take in every inch of flesh as they traversed from his chest, up his throat, past the stubble on his chin, over his full, wide lips… And finally resting on a pair of closed eyes with long lashes that any woman would envy.

It wasn't a surprise that she was in Shunsui's arms, because she definitely remembered how Chinogishiki had forced her body to move toward the Kyouraku estate when she'd noticed her brother and Shunsui walking through the gates. She could vaguely remember collapsing outside several times on the way to where the two captains had been inside, and even her brother taking her inside. Bits and pieces of memories, small snippets that were fragmented and distorted, played in her head in quick succession. But, what she knew for a fact was that Shunsui had offered to help her recuperate when Jushiro wasn't able to.

Tears welled in her eyes as she noticed the soft purple and pink aura surrounding them. This wasn't right. Even though she could feel her zanpakuto humming in contentment where his blade was nestled in her body - something that only Jushiro had known happened the day she'd killed all those people, and what he'd said to keep a secret from everyone - she knew that she needed to leave.

Of course, she appreciated that Shunsui would do something like this for her, that he would help her when he owed her nothing, but she couldn't be a burden to anyone.

" _Lucy, stop that… You're not a burden."_

The quiet rumbling voice in her head only had her shaking her head. She hated how connected he was with her from time to time. She still remembered what he'd told her, and the sickly green air that had hung in her inner world. She could still feel Chinogishiki's skin on hers as he'd just held her the way she needed him to. How she'd woken up with him still wrapped around her, lying on the frozen ground. And even with all of that, she didn't want this to continue.

Lucy didn't want to be used anymore. Yes, she wanted to see her brother, to finally be able to reunite with him, but she knew that if she allowed herself to see him, she wouldn't be able to leave him behind again. It was better this way. It would hurt for a little while, but Jushiro would heal in time. He would be freed of worrying over her, and of the guilt for allowing her to remain in prison when he only wanted her to be free.

But looking at Shunsui's sleeping face, and knowing that he'd taken it upon himself to heal her and bring her back from her own attempt at ending her miserable existence, it only made her feel worse.

" _Be happy you're alive, love. He saved you, and now you've got another chance at life."_

Lucy shook her head and started to pull herself away from the Squad 8 captain. She needed to find something to wear, then slip out as quietly as she could manage while it was still dark out. Just as his arm was about to fall to the bed, with the blonde carefully edging away from him to make sure he didn't wake up, Shunsui's eyes slid open and locked onto her own wide, brown eyes still filled with tears.

"Lucy-chan," he whispered sleepily, a gentle, sad smile on his face. "You're awake."

She froze then, her breath stalling in her chest and lips parted on a shuddering gasp. The look in his eyes as he watched her, only her face, even though she was suddenly aware of how much of her body was bared and that her breasts had been pressed against him, showed a deep sadness. Uncertainty. Concern. "I-I…"

"You're trying to leave again, ne?"

She shook her head quickly, hoping to deny any concerns he might have until he was asleep again. Then she could make her move.

Shunsui sighed quietly and brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He didn't pay attention to the fact that his reiatsu was still surrounding them, having grown used to it over the past four days while he'd tried to help the blonde. As his thumb lightly danced over her cheek, catching a stray tear that had trickled down onto her nose, he whispered, "I want you to tell me the truth, okay?"

Lucy sniffled, but didn't say a word.

"Jushiro told me you can't be healed with kido, but that you're great at using it to help others. Did you… use it on yourself?"

Lucy's lips tightened, but that seemed to be all the answer Shunsui had needed to know he was right. His brow furrowed and he pulled her to him again, crushing the blonde to his chest and nestling his nose in her golden hair. She tried in vain to push him away, but the next words out of his mouth had her frozen once more.

"I won't tell you it was stupid to do that," he whispered. "It's not stupid to feel alone and cursed, or like it would be better if you were gone. It's not stupid to feel like that's the only option..."

Lucy whimpered as she felt his lips puckering against her scalp, how his hold on her tightened. It wasn't painful, but almost as though he was trying to make sure she didn't disappear.

"I don't know everything you've been through, but I know it hasn't been easy," he continued, his low voice filled with pain and his mind drifting back to his own past. To his older brother and his wife, to the countless people that hadn't been able to stay in his life for one reason or another. The hopelessness he'd felt more often than not and the small slivers of happiness he'd clung to to get through his darkest days. "And I know that your brother wants to see you."

"I-I can't," she croaked.

"Because you want to make sure he hurts less when you're gone again?" he asked knowingly. "Well, lemme tell you something that he told me a long time ago…"

Lucy's chin was gently lifted as he crooked a finger under it, and her eyes locked onto his.

"He said, 'The pain you feel now is only temporary, but what will be left behind after you're gone, in the ones you love, will never go away. So, lean on me when you need to. Don't hide from me. Let me be strong  _for_  you, because…'" Shunsui paused when a sob escaped her and Lucy curled back into him, what his best friend had told him still echoing in his head.

" _Let me be strong for you, because I can't bear to lose you, Shunsui." Jushiro took a shuddering breath and pulled Shunsui out of the bath completely, wrapping a towel around his nude form and pressing a washcloth to the open wound on his chest._

" _I-I can't do this anymore," Shunsui cried. "I can't…"_

" _You can, and I'll be here for you. It'll pass, I swear."_

_Shunsui looked at the shattered bottle of sake, and the bloody pieces that he'd tried to use to tear out his own heart. Tears blurred his vision and he finally latched onto Jushiro. "Don't die on me, too," he cried. "Everyone I c-care about dies…"_

" _And everyone I care about leaves," Jushiro whispered with a saddened smile. "Sometimes it is necessary, but…" He shook his head and lifted Shunsui, then stood and carried him to the bed just outside of the bathroom. "We will be together for a very long time, Shunsui. I'll never leave you behind."_

Shunsui was broken out of his memory by the blonde's cries and jumbled words.

"I-I'm sorry! I just… I…"

"It's okay," he whispered. His fingers sifted through her hair and he tenderly held the crying blonde. "There you go, just let it all out." It didn't matter to him if Lucy cried for the rest of the night. He'd been where she was, in his own way, and he knew that she didn't need platitudes or for someone to tell her to cheer up, or that things would get better.

So, instead, Shunsui simply did what he'd needed Jushiro to do back then. He held Lucy, he let her cry, and once she'd calmed down a little, he smiled and didn't let her go. She tried to push him away for only a moment before finally sinking right back into him.

"Th-Thank you... Captain Kyouraku..."

It wasn't so different than what he'd been through, and just knowing that she really only wanted someone to hold her, reminded him of how long the blonde had gone without feeling like this. How long she'd gone without even being able to feel someone's arms around her, to comfort her when she needed it. How much had been taken from her. It only made him less willing to let her go, so he simply let himself drift off to sleep well after Lucy's breathing had evened out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to send a huge thanks to LittlePrincessNana for letting me use her two OC's, Ishiko and Iwao. For any of you that are familiar with her writing, I'm sure you'll be curious to see what I do with these two. And, for the ones that haven't checked out my Triplet's writing, I highly suggest heading over to FFnet and reading "Soundpod on Shuffle" to understand those two characters. And then, while you're at it, jump down the rabbit hole and read the rest of her amazing stories! They're well worth it!


	4. Darkness Closing In

 

Jushiro stood tall as he waited for the Captain's meeting to begin. He wanted more than anything to go and see Shunsui and Lucy, especially since he'd gotten a hell butterfly just that morning from his best friend's attendant to let him know that the blonde was finally awake. He was desperate to see her, to just hold her and finally hear her voice for the first time in three hundred years. He wanted to see her smile, to get her caught up on everything she'd missed while being locked away. Most importantly, though, Jushiro wanted to apologize to her for not being a better brother before, and for not fighting harder to keep her out of prison.

Finally, the meeting was called to order, and the white-haired captain waited with lowered eyes for the formalities to be completed. He didn't hear most of what was being said, until the Captain-Commander called his name.

"Yes, sir," Jushiro said, lifting his gaze to the older man.

"I said we are all glad to see you are back on your feet. Should you need assistance, do not hesitate to ask."

"Yes, sir," Jushiro said with a small bow.

"Now," Genryusai said solemnly, "The reason I have called you here today is to inform you of a possible threat that has made itself known in the past week."

Jushiro's head shot up as he and Unohana locked eyes with one another. While the other captains all turned their attention to the older man, he kept his gaze on the healer, and his blood ran cold when she gave him a miniscule nod.

"A threat?" Captain Hitsugaya asked.

"Who cares?" Kenpachi grumbled. "Point me in the right direction, and I'll handle it."

"This information will not leave this room," Genryusai said. "As captains, you need to be informed and aware of what could happen, but no action is to be taken without my order."

"Captain-Commander," Jushiro said quickly. "What are you doing?"

"I am doing what is best for Soul Society," he answered.

"You can't…"

"It is necessary, Captain Ukitake. Now, hold your tongue."

Jushiro's lips tightened and his reiatsu rippled dangerously for only a moment before reining himself back in. The bitter taste of betrayal burned in his gut, but he bit back any reply as he caught the harsh look of reprove from the older man.

"A prisoner was released from Muken recently," Genryusai said, directing his attention back to the other captains. "One whose powers could pose a threat to Soul Society. As you know, Muken is for only the most heinous offenders."

"Why would someone like that be let out, then?" Captain Komamura frowned.

"Yes," Mayuri hissed with narrowed eyes. "I would like to know as well."

"This person is currently in a safe house," Genryusai continued. "She will be watched closely, and if there is any indication that her power is going out of control, we will need to act quickly to subdue her."

Jushiro's jaw clenched angrily, and his eyes closed to combat the fury licking just beneath his fingertips. The last thing Lucy needed was for people to be suspicious of her, or for someone to see her as a threat. She'd never been a threat to anyone.

"Shouldn't Captain Kyouraku be present for this as well?" Unohana asked.

"He is already aware of the situation," Genryusai said. "Captain Kyouraku is the one who requested her release from Muken, and Central 46 granted that request."

"What kind of powers are we dealing with anyway?" Kenpachi huffed.

"Oh, I think I can answer that one," Mayuri scowled. "It seems someone found out about my test subject, and pulled her out before I had the chance to-"

"You won't lay a hand on her," Jushiro sneered. His head slowly turned and he glared at the 12th Division captain standing opposite him. "She's not some experiment."

"With her abilities," Mayuri chuckled, "She'll be a perfect test subject. Think of the scientific advancement, if I could find a way to duplicate her ability to-"

"I won't let you hurt her!"

Byakuya reached out and placed a staying hand on the 13th Division Captain's shoulder. "It is an unwise decision to draw your sword, Captain Ukitake."

"Why would you care about some prisoner?" Mayuri laughed. "She can heal injuries as though they never happened! I still say that she should be turned over to me. She'll be mostly intact once I'm done with-"

Jushiro shrugged off Byakuya's hand and shot forward in a blistering flash step, foregoing the use of his sword to wrap a hand around Mayuri's throat. "You will leave my sister alone," he spat, his grip tightening marginally. "Do you hear me?!"

The room went oddly quiet as Jushiro's words sunk in, and he finally pushed Mayuri back to take his previous position in silence.

Genryusai sighed and looked across the room at each of the captains present. "Prisoner UL24SP," he said slowly. "Formerly known as Lucy Ukitake; age of appearance, twenty-four; shinigami student… Locked away for her potential, and for the murder of fifty-seven Shin'o Academy students, as well as one west Rukongai child. She has been remanded into Captain Kyouraku's custody, and will remain there indefinitely."

"What are we to do, Captain-Commander?" Unohana asked softly. "What are your orders?"

"This is purely informational," he replied with a heavy sigh. "Lucy's potential for danger lies in her power. Not her ability to heal, but in how she murdered her fellow students." He took a slow breath, looking at the angrily shaking white-haired captain.

"Three hundred years ago, she was a student in the Academy," Genryusai said. "While on a simple scouting mission in the lower Rukongai, a hollow attacked the residents and the students responded as they were trained to do. There is little information on the events surrounding that day, but the instructor was killed by the hollow, leaving the students to fend for themselves. Witnesses gave statements to that effect, and then there are only reports of a bright red light surrounding the area. When the light dimmed, Lucy was kneeling in the center of a crater, burned into the ground, with the bodies of her classmates surrounding her. The hollow was killed in the blast, and she was left catatonic while holding the body of a little girl in her arms."

Unohana watched Jushiro with saddened eyes as his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Lucy was arrested and Central 46 decided that she was too much of a threat. She would have been placed in the Maggot's Nest, like others with such potential for destruction, if it hadn't been for the murders. She was sentenced to three-thousand years in Muken."

"And she was released," Jushiro hissed, "Because Shunsui found someone who could save my life."

"That is how you were healed?" Byakuya asked with a thoughtful frown.

Jushiro nodded silently.

"Your orders are to keep an eye on Lucy, should you encounter her," Genryusai said. "We don't know everything about what happened when she was arrested, and she will need to be monitored. She will not be detained without my direct order. Is that understood?"

The captains stayed silent, but bowed when they were dismissed. Jushiro, however, stayed in place until he was left alone with the Captain-Commander.

"Is there something you need, Captain Ukitake?"

"Why would you do that?" he hissed. "Why would you… tell them about her?"

"It is my duty, and the duty of all members of the Gotei 13 to ensure our citizens' safety. Your sister does pose a threat, should she decide to use her power-"

"Lucy's not a threat to anyone!" Jushiro bellowed. "You didn't even tell them that she doesn't have a zanpakutou anymore! You aired out her past like she's some monster! Like... Like she's just as bad as Aizen!"

Genryusai stood slowly and made his way over to the trembling shinigami. The tears that were welling on his lashes didn't go unnoticed by the aged man. "Jushiro, I did this for her protection," he whispered.

"You don't care about her," Jushiro whispered. "No one cared about her before, and… I promised I'd protect her."

"Then, I would suggest you go and see her, now that she's woken up," Genryusai whispered, a rarely seen smile on his lips. "Now that she's out of Muken, I'm sure she'd like to see you… awake… for a change."

Jushiro looked into the old man's eyes, finding them opened and gazing at him with tenderness. "Tell me the truth, sir," he said softly. "Did you… Did you want her to be…"

"A prisoner?"

Jushiro nodded slowly.

"No," Genryusai sighed. "What happened to her is something I have never agreed with. Lucy simply needed more training to control her power, not to be caged like an animal."

Jushiro let out a shaky breath and nodded again. "Sh-She was innocent," he said. "I know she was innocent."

"From what you told me," Genryusai said carefully, "About how your family treated her… Sometimes I wonder if it was truly the best place for her."

"Muken?" Jushiro asked. When the older man nodded, he shrugged and looked toward the closed doors. "I've been telling myself that it was what she needed - the best way to protect her from them - for the past three hundred years."

"Well, she is with Shunsui now," Genryusai said softly. "I would suggest saving her from  _him_  first."

Jushiro found himself laughing and shaking his head at that. "Oddly enough, I think Shunsui is the best suited to protect Lucy."

"Go and be with her, Jushiro. I'm sure your lieutenant can handle anything that needs to be done for the day."

He nodded and started making his way to the doors, then paused when the old man spoke again.

"Please tell Lucy that I look forward to having tea with her again, now that she's been released."

Jushiro blinked in surprise as he looked at the Captain-Commander over his shoulder. "Again?"

"Didn't you know?" he chuckled. "Your sister had a tendency to sneak out of the Academy, just so I could have tea with someone."

"I… No," Jushiro whispered. "She never told me." When all he received in response was a simple nod, Jushiro turned and made his way out of the room, leaving a smiling Captain-Commander as the doors closed behind him.

* * *

"My name is Ishiko, and I'll be your attendant."

Lucy looked up from the calm water in her bath to the tall raven-haired woman with deep, black almond-shaped eyes. "Attendant?"

"Yes, Lucy-sama," Ishiko nodded.

"Just Lucy... You don't have to be so formal with me."

She gave the blonde a small smile while kneeling next to the bath. "Shunsui-sama asked me to be your attendant. It's my job to tend to any of your needs. Anything from bathing to bringing your food, and so on."

"Oh," Lucy winced. "You don't have to do that. I can take care of myself."

"Well," Ishiko said, still smiling as she tucked a few strands of golden hair behind the woman's ear. "Then maybe just some companionship?"

"I-I, um…" She blinked at the soft, throaty laugh that spilled from the woman's full lips.

"I mean  _friendship_ ," Ishiko grinned. After a moment, her lips softened into a sad smile. "Someone to talk to. Shunsui-sama told me you were in prison for a long time."

"I was…"

"I don't need to know why," Ishiko assured her. "But, I'm sure it was lonely there. So, if you need to talk to someone, I'll be right by your side." She found the blonde's small, grateful smile more than endearing, and her own widened in return. "Now, would you like to get out of there and dressed? I'm sure breakfast will be ready soon."

"It's nearly time for lunch," Lucy giggled, lowering her gaze to the water again.

"Well, you and Shunsui-sama slept the day away. We're used to him sleeping in when his lieutenant doesn't come to collect him in the morning, so the staff is ready to make breakfast at any time of the day."

"I probably should get ready," Lucy nodded. "Otherwise I'll be one big wrinkle." She slowly sat up as Ishiko rolled back the sleeve on her grey kimono to pull the plug on the bath. Her vision spotted strangely as she stood, and the blonde's foot slipped as she tried to step out of the bath.

Ishiko gasped and turned quickly to catch the woman. "Lucy-sama, are you okay?"

Lucy nodded and carefully placed her feet on the floor. Her limbs felt heavy and sluggish, and it seemed as though the room itself had turned on its axis. Just enough to make her knees wobble and bile rise into her chest. "Th-Thank you, Ishiko. I…" Lucy leaned her weight on the woman when an odd chill swept across her flesh and down the length of her spine. With one step, her eyelids fluttered as she collapsed, slipping through Ishiko's arms and crashing to the floor.

Ishiko quickly grabbed a towel as she heard footsteps rushing toward the bathroom. She covered the blonde and turned her head as the door flew open, watching with widened eyes as Shunsui appeared in the doorway.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Ishiko answered, shaking her head. She turned back to Lucy and used a second towel to hurriedly blot away the moisture on her suddenly flushed cheeks and brow. "She was getting out of the bath and she collapsed. She seemed fine when we were talking…" Maybe the water had been too hot? Lucy hadn't complained though. She'd seemed more than fine with the temperature when she'd gotten in, and the young woman had been sitting there long enough for it to have cooled almost uncomfortably.

Shunsui made his way into the bathroom and knelt at Lucy's side. He brushed a hand over her damp hair, watching as she let out a discomfited groan while leaning into his palm. "Ishiko, please get her dried and dressed," he whispered, scowling when he felt the shallow breaths Lucy was taking. "Iwao will help you get her back into bed."

Ishiko watched as Shunsui stood and left the bathroom, then turned back to the blonde and started carefully drying her off. "What's with you?" she whispered. She just couldn't understand how Lucy had gone from being fine one moment to passing out the next. And granted, the blonde had been a little clumsy when Ishiko had drawn the bath and led her away from Shunsui's bed, but the raven-haired woman had chalked it up to her just being a little out of sorts.

Just as Ishiko couldn't understand what was happening with Lucy, she also didn't understand how the blonde had gotten the privilege of lying in bed with the clan leader. If she was a healer of some sort, then shouldn't she have been with Captain Unohana? And why did she have to be here, in the Kyouraku estate?

"What's so special about you?"

Ishiko had heard plenty of whispers from other staff members about Lucy, even though no one had met her just yet aside from the twin attendants. But there were a lot of discomfited whispers about the elders having been shafted by Shunsui in the decision to make her a ward of their clan. Knowing the man, he'd most likely walked into the meeting and simply told them what he was going to do. Those stuffy old hats probably hadn't had the chance to turn him down. Or maybe they'd simply decided to let Central 46 do the work for them.

And all Ishiko could think about while continuing to dry Lucy off was the look on her leader's face as he'd left the room. She never saw him angry. Yes, he was almost always drunk, and she would be lying if she hadn't hoped that he would notice her while just a little intoxicated, but the Squad 8 captain was a happy drunk. He was always smiling, laughing, telling perverted jokes and blushing so much that no one could tell whether it was from the sake or something else.

And he was a carefree man. Shunsui didn't need a ward, someone tying him down like this. While Lucy wasn't a child, he was still expected to care for her in some capacity, and to make sure that she didn't do whatever it was that had gotten her locked in Muken in the first place. But he'd looked so angry. So upset.

 _'Was that my fault?'_  Ishiko wondered while staring at the motionless blonde.  _'Was this a test of some sort, and I failed? On my first day in this job...'_

Iwao appeared minutes later with a fresh white yukata and knelt next to his twin. He frowned at the tension in his sister's shoulders and placed a gentle hand on hers as they moved over the blonde to dry her. "Ishiko, he's not mad at you," he whispered.

"I never said he was," she snipped.

"No, but you look upset. Shunsui-sama sent a hell butterfly to Captain Ukitake to let him know what happened. From what he said, she's still sick. I think he's upset with himself for not sending me in with you to help her from the start."

"I don't need your help," Ishiko hissed. Besides her brother had been busy with changing the sheets in Shunsui's bed. Ishiko didn't need her brother to do the work for her, as well as for himself. "Shunsui-sama gave  _me_  this job, to take care of her. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to let him down."

Iwao sighed as he watched his sister carefully pulling Lucy's hand through one sleeve of her yukata. "Are you determined to do this because Shunsui-sama asked it of you?" he asked. "Or is it because you truly want to help her?"

"Can't it be both?"

"It can, but you didn't answer my question."

Ishiko went silent for several long moments, focusing solely on her task of dressing the unconscious blonde woman. Once the yukata was tied in place, she looked at her twin brother, then leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. He knew her too well, more often than not. Some said it was because they were twins, that they had some unnatural connection. And for a long time, she'd believed that. But it was something else entirely with Iwao. He'd always been good at seeing what others were hiding. It was just that he only ever confronted her about it, since he was her brother.

"It's one thing to do what our leader asks because we want to be of use within the family," Iwao said, bringing a hand to his sister's shining black hair. "But I already know that you want more than that from him, in particular."

"He'll never want me," she whispered sadly. "And the elders would never approve of it anyway."

"This duty though," Iwao continued. "Being an attendant… You have to remember that everything you do brings honor to the Kyouraku clan. Even though Lucy-sama here is Shunsui-sama's ward, she is almost part of the family. It's an honor to serve her, just as much as it is to serve our leader. You can't let your own emotions cloud your duties."

That was the hard part, though. Ishiko wished so badly that she could be in Lucy's position. So close to the clan leader, feeling his arms around her. But that just wasn't meant for her. Her family was of a lower standing that Shunsui's, and the elders of the Kyouraku clan would have to be off their rockers to allow him to truly be with someone like herself.

Then again, Lucy was in much the same predicament, when Ishiko thought about it. She was a criminal, and the family already had their reservations about the mysterious blonde. Just as Ishiko couldn't ever hope to be with Shunsui, Lucy couldn't either. So, really... There was nothing to be upset about. The woman lying on the floor couldn't do a thing to change her position, just as Ishiko couldn't, so she had nothing to worry over.

Ishiko deeply inhaled her brother's soothing scent, smiling against his neck. "You're right, Iwao," she sighed. She slowly sat up and looked into his eyes that were perfect mirrors of hers. "I'll give this everything I have, not just for him, but for her too."

And that was what Ishiko would do. She would bring honor to the Kyouraku clan, as a way of thanking Shunsui for all the things he'd done for her and her own sub-family. This was her mission, to be Lucy's attendant, and there was nothing that would stop her from being the best attendant she could be for the blonde.

"That's the spirit," he chuckled. "Now, let me help you get her into the bed, alright?" He crouched and lifted the blonde, then slowly carried her back into the bedroom while Ishiko picked up the towels from the floor. Once Lucy was settled on the bed again, right next to Shunsui, he gave the clan leader a small bow and waited to find out what he needed to do.

"Jushiro's on his way," Shunsui said as he gazed down at the blonde. "Go ahead and bring breakfast. I'm sure she'll wake up soon."

"It would probably be good for her to eat something," Ishiko said as she walked back into the room, biting her lower lip in thought. "Maybe that's why she fell…"

"It's a possibility. Thank you both."

A short while later, Lucy awoke and found herself lying in a plain white yukata back in Shunsui's bed. Her limbs were still weak from the illness she'd taken in from Jushiro, and it seemed that it had only compounded the previous weakness from spending three centuries in the same position.  _'That has to be it... I'm just trying to catch up, now.'_

Shunsui was lying behind her, his head propped on one hand while he gazed worriedly at the blonde. "Are you alright?"

Lucy nodded slowly, her brow pinching together as a wave of vertigo swept through her. "There's nothing I can do to heal this," she sighed. "I just don't feel well."

"You passed out in the bathroom, Lucy-chan," he whispered. "Your brother's on his way, and he already knows what happened."

She winced but nodded again. She already knew that between being bedridden for days, along with how little she'd moved over three hundred years, her body was trying to catch up. But the reason she wasn't feeling so great was because of the mistake she'd made before.

" _So, now you'll admit that it was a mistake to do that to yourself?"_

Lucy sighed as her zanpakuto's voice careened through her head.  _"Yes. Please, Chinogishiki… Be quiet for right now…"_

Her only response was an indignant huff, but that was all she needed to start relaxing just a little.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shunsui asked gently.

"Shove a pick in my skull," Lucy grumbled, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. "Maybe that'll hurt less than this headache."

"Sounds like a nasty hangover," he chuckled.

"I wouldn't know… I was never allowed to drink."

"Trust me, you don't want to know." He blinked in surprise when the blonde rolled to face him, burying her head in his chest just moments before the door to his room opened. He looked up and gave his best friend a lopsided grin. "How's it going, Jushiro?"

"Why are you still snuggling with my sister?"

"Not entirely sure this time," Shunsui shrugged. "She has a headache now though."

"I'm right here, y'know," Lucy frowned. "At least  _whisper_  if you're going to pretend I can't speak for myself."

Shunsui chuckled at the surprise showing on Jushiro's face. He kept his arm at his side though, even though it felt like the natural thing to do to just wrap it around the blonde. "Sorry," he whispered.

"Much better," Lucy sighed.

"Lucy," Jushiro said softly as he came to kneel beside the bed. "What happened?"

"I'm sick, Onii-chan. That's all." She winced when his familiar fingers brushed over her shoulder, and slowly rolled onto her back to look at him with tired eyes.

"Tell me I'm wrong," he whispered sadly as he cupped her cheek. "Lucy, please tell me you didn't…"

"I did."

"... Why would you-"

Shunsui watched as Lucy's eyes slid closed to hide what he knew was a formidable wellspring of pain. "Jushiro," he said, drawing his friend's attention in an instant. "You know why."

"But-"

"No," Shunsui said a little more insistently. "You  _know_ … Remember before. How you…" He took a shaky breath, lowering his gaze to the blonde. "How you found me that day..."

_*.*_

_The words of his best friend rattled in his head from a week before, forcing Shunsui to pull another long draw of sake straight from the bottle._

' _I'm sorry to tell you this, Shunsui. Nanao's mother was executed for losing a sacred treasure. I only found out this morning, but… It happened three days ago. I'm so sorry.'_

_Shunsui felt a sob bubbling in his chest as his shaking hand dropped the clay bottle, and he fell to his knees while tightly gripping his aching heart._

_His brother had died, and his sister-in-law had entrusted the new clan leader with her family heirloom. That weapon was a sacred treasure of the Ise family, and because she'd given it to Shunsui for safekeeping, she'd been killed. And now, his little niece was being cloistered away from him until she was old enough to join the Academy herself, if she so chose._

_He was the guilty one in this, and that guilt consumed him until he was burning with anger. She hadn't deserved to die, not when their treasure was sitting with him. It wasn't lost, but now… She was. The woman that had made his brother so happy, that found a way to reunite Shunsui with the former leader of the Kyouraku clan. And she was gone._

_She was gone, because of him._

_He didn't care that the shards of the bottle cut into his hand as it wrapped around them. Shunsui was going to make sure he could never feel this pain again. He didn't need his heart, and the last thing he wanted was for this to consume him to the point of him becoming a hollow. He didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, and the only way he could make it so his bad luck wasn't forced on the ones he loved was to just end it all._

" _Bath," he whispered to himself. "N-Need to be in the… th-the bath."_

_He ignored the worried hum of his zanpakutou as he crashed into the door. He moved further into the room and fumbled with the taps until he could get them on. It didn't matter if it was warm. He wouldn't be alive much longer to feel it._

_While the bath filled, Shunsui stood before the mirror and glared at his reflection. He hated the tears in his eyes, streaking his cheeks with his pain. He hated that he wasn't stronger than this. But he could feel it, the hole starting to form in his heart. He had to protect the ones he loved. They could say goodbye to his corpse. There weren't many left for him to truly care about. Iwao and Jushiro would be better without him though. He knew that._

_His grip around the bottle shard tightened, but he didn't feel it biting into his flesh, or even the blood that trickled down his arm. His movements were hurried as he ripped his clothes off, and he stopped the flow of water before returning to the mirror._

_If he was going to do this, he wanted to see it. Shunsui wanted to see his heart as he ripped it out of his body. It wasn't doing him any good as it was. He didn't need it._

_He carved a deep gash into his chest, then another that crossed over it. Through the muscle, down to the bone. A wave of dizziness blurred his vision and he stumbled, toppling into the bath and hitting his head in the process._

_Loud banging on the door warred with the ringing in his ears and the water trying to fill his lungs. But there was no fight left in him any longer. He couldn't keep this charade up. It was slowly killing him, and he couldn't pretend that he was alright anymore._

" _... -sui!"_

_Strong hands dove into the water, wrapping around him and lifting his bleeding body up for him to breathe. Shunsui coughed, his head hanging limp and his eyes barely opening to see Jushiro hovering over him._

" _Shunsui, what have you done?!"_

" _H-Hurts… S-So much pain…"_

_Jushiro pressed a hand to the gushing wound, biting his lips as he tried to staunch the bloodflow. "Wh-What have you…"_

" _My fault," Shunsui sniffled. "J-Jushiro. Kill me… Please, kill me…"_

_Deep brown eyes rounded with horror. "I can't let you die, Shunsui."_

" _Please," the brunette sobbed. His hand shot out of the water, and he plunged the bottle shard into his chest again, ripping the skin as he dragged it downward. "L-Let me-"_

" _Shunsui, no!" Jushiro shouted. He struggled to gain control of his friend's weapon, throwing the bloody tool across the room._

" _I-I can't live l-like this… I… J-Jushiro… I'll s-set you free! Without me, you'll be h-happy! Please!"_

_*.*_

Jushiro's saddened eyes lingered on his dearest friend's face before looking back down at his sister. "You wanted to save me," he whispered, "From worrying about you."

Lucy bit her lips and turned her head away from him, closer to the 8th Division captain.

"Lucy, that isn't… We'll work through everything, okay?"

She shivered when she was forced to look at her brother again. Even though she'd wanted to be strong when he finally came to see her, all the blonde could think about was how much it would have hurt him, if she'd succeeded in killing herself. How long he'd been waiting to see her face again, only to find her in such a state because all she'd done was pity herself.

Shunsui slowly sat up and moved away from the bed when there was a soft knock on the door, paying no attention to how Jushiro crawled into his bed and pulled Lucy into his arms.

"I-I'm sorry, Onii-chan," Lucy whimpered. "I'm sorry…"

With a sad shake of his head, Shunsui opened the door to reveal Ishiko and Iwao carrying three trays of food. He stepped aside to let them in, watching as neither of the twins reacted outwardly to the scene on the bed.

"It's okay, Lucy," Jushiro whispered tenderly. His arms tightened around her, pulling the frail, trembling blonde closer. "I'm not mad at you."

"I m-missed you so much," she said, forcing her tears to stay hidden. "I-I just didn't… I-I was scared and… A-And-"

"Shh," Jushiro said. "Just let me hold you. I'm here now."

Shunsui was silent as he made his way to the bathroom with Iwao just behind him. Ishiko made her way out of the room to wait out in the hall for her brother. He didn't make a sound as his attendant started undressing him, and instead waved him off while stepping into the shower.

"Shunsui-sama," Iwao said quietly. "Are you alright?"

Shunsui stood under the spray with his back to the younger, caramel-skinned man. One hand lifted to brush aside the hairs on his chest that hid the scars he'd given himself. "Iwao, do you remember when I was in the Academy?"

"Of course."

"And how scared you were when you found the bathroom covered in blood… How Jushiro cried and cried that night…"

Iwao's eyes flashed with surprise, their black depths darkening with regret. "I remember," he whispered shakily.

Shunsui shook his head while lathering a cloth with soap. "I feel so bad for what I did to him that night. What I put both of you through… I was so selfish…"

"You were hurting, Shunsui-sama," Iwao said instantly. "You were just trying to… to cope with what happened."

"I would have killed myself if Jushiro hadn't showed up," he countered.

"But he did. And you're here now."

Shunsui looked over his shoulder, letting the water run down his body in soap-filled rivulets. "And we nearly lost Lucy-chan to the same thing," he said softly. "To that pain from the past. I can't let that happen, Iwao. I can't let her just leave him behind."

"We could have her-"

"No restraints," Shunsui frowned, tipping his head back to wet his hair, then working it into a healthy lather. "She's not a prisoner here. But we  _do_  need to find some way for her to… I don't know… Feel like it's not hopeless."

"Well," Iwao said, reaching in to turn off the water once Shunsui was done, then winding a towel around the clan leader's waist before he stepped out of the shower. "I believe you and Captain Ukitake are well-suited for this task. You have both been through it, from different sides of the same circumstance."

"I thought you'd say that," Shunsui chuckled. He waited quietly as the attendant used another towel to carefully dry his body, watching as the soft cloth paused over his heart.

Iwao smiled when his leader's hand rested over his. "You have a strong heart," he whispered. "And I remember you telling me, back when you were healing… You said that I had a strong heart, and you needed to have that with you. Yours was too broken…"

"It still is, sometimes," Shunsui nodded.

"And my strong heart will always beat for you, Shunsui-sama," Iwao said, his onyx eyes gleaming with happiness and pride. "Yours is strong as well, and I believe that Lucy-sama needs something like that right now."

"She hardly knows me."

"Then she can get to know you," Iwao grinned. "And when she does, Lucy-sama will see what the rest of the family sees. A strong leader, a good and kind man. A great captain of the Gotei 13. Most importantly, though, is what I value the most."

"What's that?"

"One of the best friends one could ask for," Iwao said, gently patting the clan leader on the chest before reaching up to dry his hair. "Even as your attendant, I feel as though we are friends."

"Of course we are," Shunsui smirked. "I don't let just anyone see me naked. Just my close friends."

"And any woman that fits your standards of breathing, and willing to bed you."

"Well, that too," Shunsui laughed. Really, he loved his attendant. He had no idea what he would do without the young man that had become one of the few he loved so deeply. It seemed the man always knew just what to say to help Shunsui find his smile again. While most people thought that he smiled so easily because that was just who he was - and partially because of how often he drank - it really wasn't the case.

Shunsui desperately clung to those moments of joy in his life, so his own guilt and despair wouldn't consume him. He knew that Lucy needed the same thing. After being confined for so long in Muken, the blonde needed to see the way the world was now. How bright things were, now that she was away from the neverending darkness of the prison.

Somehow, Shunsui would find a way to bring back Lucy's smile. He was curious to see what it looked like when she was truly happy. How much could his friend's sister brighten up the world with just a smile?

In that moment, as he walked back into the room after Iwao dressed him in a comfortable yukata, he saw the way Jushiro was still holding the blonde. He knew then, though, that he would stop at nothing to help Lucy find her way through this dark time in her life. He wouldn't leave the woman to fend for herself, just as Jushiro and Iwao hadn't left him.

* * *

Lucy thanked Ishiko once again as the woman carefully led her down the hall toward her own room. Jushiro had spent nearly the whole day with her before he had to get back to his own division to check in. Shunsui, for his part, had seemed to be trying to stay out of their way while they reunited.

Dinner came and went, and she'd found out over the course of the day how much had changed during her imprisonment. The promotion of Kirio Hikifune from Squad 12 Captain to the Royal Guard for her invention of artificial souls. The different captains that came and went over the centuries. Most importantly, Lucy learned about a man named Sosuke Aizen, one of the few other occupants of Muken.

She'd been told of how he'd slowly worked his way up in the Academy, then was assigned to the 5th Division. How he'd sacrificed millions of shinigami and Rukongai souls to create something called a Hougyoku. This man, who had experimented on members of the Gotei 13 and created something called the Visored, half-hollow and half-shinigami hybrids with the use of a hollow mask and a cero.

He'd murdered all of Central 46, the sages who had ordered her own imprisonment, and nearly had a member of the Kuchiki clan executed. Rukia Kuchiki, her older brother's lieutenant. Two other captains had followed Aizen into Hueco Mundo and had attempted to destroy everything they held dear just so Aizen could overthrow the Soul King. Thankfully, he'd been stopped.

Lucy had remained silent during the story, but she'd been struck by just how long his charade had gone on with no one being the wiser. Just how many people had suffered at his hands. A man like him truly did belong in Muken, sealed away for the safety of not just Soul Society, but the three worlds.

And, of course, Lucy couldn't help but compare what he'd done to her own experience. When she did, however, the blonde found bitterness welling up in her over the unfairness of it all. She hadn't meant to kill anyone that day. Her only focus had been on saving the little girl that had died in the power flare shot from within Lucy as the hollow bore down on them. But even though so many people had been killed because of her, Aizen had killed more.

So, what was it that made her crime bad enough that she had been forced to spend three centuries kneeling in the darkness of the Seireitei's most secure prison?

Lucy sighed as she was carefully settled on the bed, nodding when Ishiko asked if she wished to get some more rest. The window to her room was open to allow a fresh breeze to come in, but all Lucy could see was the thick sheet of heavy, grey rain that coated the land beyond.

She'd yet to see the outside world. Her vision had been horribly tunneled when she was released from prison; partially because she hadn't been used to having light, but mostly because Lucy hadn't wanted to see anything that would make her long for freedom more than she already did. Now though, the blonde wished she just had the strength to get out of bed and walk in the rain. She wanted to see and feel and touch everything again.

She wanted to commit it all to memory, to refresh the ones that had faded with time. Eventually, she hoped that Shunsui would allow her to go outside, but Lucy knew that she needed rest first to restore her energy and combat the last of the illness she'd brought on herself.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long, because even though she'd had Chinogishiki to keep her company and help her remain sane, Lucy longed to be outside with fresh air filling her lungs.

Her eyes closed and she breathed in the soft, freshly washed linens while snuggling into her pillow. Lucy had once been so hopeful of her future, but the longer she'd been taken advantage of, the more that bright future had dimmed. Jushiro, the Captain-Commander, and even Captain Unohana had helped her find a glimmer of hope by getting her into Shin'o Academy, but that had been ripped away from her.

"Maybe all I'm good for is being a prisoner," Lucy sighed. She didn't want to believe it, but there was only so much a person could take. And every day, no matter where she was, the blonde felt as though she was a prisoner.

The walls were closing in around her, but instead of being scared of it, Lucy's breaths came just a little easier. She needed the confinement that she'd spent most of her life surrounded by. She craved it. The blonde quickly threw back her covers and sat up, pressing one hand to her head to combat the sudden dizziness she felt. Once her vision was steady, she pulled only a sheet from the bed and searched the darkened room for some place that would make her feel safe again.

Everything here was too new, too spacious.

" _Lucy, don't do this. You don't need to be locked up again."_

She did though. Lucy could feel the desperation clawing at her nerves. She'd never had this feeling before, but there was something about it that she knew was important. And the only thing that came to mind was finding a way to be confined again. Without a moment's hesitation, she pushed the clothing from the closet, not paying attention to the expensive silks that littered the floor behind her. The sheet was wrapped around her shoulders, and Lucy scrambled into the small space, silently closing the door.

As soon as she was surrounded by the darkness, she took a deep, soothing breath.

" _How is this making you feel better?"_

Her zanpakutou knew, though. She was sure he understood. "This is my life," she whispered. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, but Lucy ignored it. She ignored the faint hints of fear that always came with being in the dark, and instead basked in its familiarity. She'd needed this. Something familiar in this new place she'd been dropped into.

" _This isn't right. You're not back with your family,"_  Chinogishiki growled.  _"You don't have to be like this now."_

At the mention of her family, Lucy remembered all the times she'd been dragged out of her bed and down the darkened hallways, then blindfolded. How the blonde had been bound with kido that burned her arms. How someone would come to her and place their hands on her - arms, stomach, legs, even her face - so they could be healed. She remembered the pain, how she'd begged them to stop, and the nights that she'd simply been pushed into a small closet and locked away until they needed her again.

_"Don't think about them. I shouldn't have mentioned it. Lucy, come on..."_

The only time Lucy saw light was when she had been taken out of that small closet the family had kept her in. Light breaking into her little darkened space meant she was going to be hurt again, used, tortured all for the sake of others having pristine flesh and no illness.  _'Safe in the dark. No one touches me in the dark. If I feel the walls, then I can't feel-'_

_"Lucy… Stop this. It isn't right..."_

Maybe it wasn't, but the blonde didn't care. She felt safe here. Safe and warm. While she was locked in the darkness, feeling the walls so close to her that she had to curl in on herself slightly, nothing could touch her. No one could hurt her here.

It wasn't long before Lucy was asleep, breathing softly and curled up in a ball that would have left most people too uncomfortable to rest. But for her, this was where she could find peace.

* * *

Two weeks came and went after Lucy's first night in the closet, and no one had been any the wiser that she wasn't sleeping in her bed. She would wake up in a sweat partway through the night and then found it easier to just bathe herself, rather than bother Ishiko. The clothes she pulled from the closet every night were set back in place before her attendant even came to check on her in the morning. Her bed was already made, and Lucy would simply kneel by an open window and listen to the steadily beating rain with her eyes closed until the caramel-skinned woman came to her.

The only time Lucy really needed Ishiko was when it came to getting dressed in her kimono for the day and styling her hair. For the most part, she could manage it herself, but there were a few pieces that needed a second set of hands. And the blonde had never been any good at handling her hair, no matter how long or short it was. All she could manage was a braid, but that just wasn't an acceptable style for how she dressed.

She would eat breakfast with Shunsui, as long as he was already awake and didn't need to rush off to the division with his lieutenant barking orders at him as soon as he crossed the threshold. Sometimes he would show up for lunch, and he was almost always home for dinner. The man tried to make conversation, but Lucy just wasn't all that amenable to it. She was polite, but what could she say? This was a completely different time than what she'd known before. While the manor didn't give her any idea of how much time had really passed, since it was decorated more traditionally, Lucy knew. There was so much she'd missed, and no way for her to try and catch back up.

Jushiro came and went as he was able to, but Lucy didn't blame him for not visiting all that often. He was a captain, and she knew now that his illness had made it nearly impossible for him to function as a proper captain for quite some time. Luckily, Rukia Kuchiki was a devoted member of his division, and took the extra work with nothing less than her full attention. Now, Jushiro was trying to sort everything out, delegate duties and keep some responsibilities for himself.

The worst part of being Shunsui Kyouraku's ward, however, was that Lucy didn't know what to do with herself during the day. The rain never stopped, so she couldn't go outside. She had the feeling that she was constantly being watched, but not just by Ishiko, who was nearly always by her. Every time she rounded a corner, Lucy would feel eyes on her. There was no malevolent reiatsu in the area, but it still made her uncomfortable.

It made the blonde feel as though no one trusted her, but she could understand that, as well. She was a criminal, until very recently a prisoner, and no one knew anything about her. She didn't know anyone well enough to try and strike up a conversation with them, and the one time she'd made the attempt… The blonde had found out that the cook didn't like people randomly walking into the kitchen, and had locked herself in her own closet for several hours before she felt Ishiko's presence approaching her room. It was a miracle that she'd been able to get everything back in order before the attendant had entered the bedroom she was given.

Lucy didn't want anyone to know about her little haven.

And that had worked perfectly, until Lucy had a night terror of the abuse she'd undergone at her family's hands. Her screams echoed through the manor, though muffled because of where she was, but it was the violent flash of reiatsu that blew out the window and door in her room that drew most of the staff's attention.

While Iwao ran to Shunsui's room to rouse their leader, his twin sister rushed toward her charge's room, scurrying over the bits of wood that had been the door and dashing inside. Not a moment later, the raven-haired woman was tossed back out and cracked her head into the opposite wall by another searing pulse of reiatsu.

"Where is she?" Shunsui asked as Iwao knelt at Ishiko's side.

"I-I don't… In her room, I think," the woman answered in a daze. She pulled her fingers from the throbbing pain in the back of her head, finding them smeared with blood.

Shunsui turned toward the room and made his way inside, sending up a barrier at the door to keep any errant reiatsu held back from injuring someone. "Lucy-chan?" His gaze travelled across the room to find the bedding turned down and Lucy's kimonos scattered next to the closed closet.

"No!" Lucy screeched, her eyes wrenched shut as she struggled against the bedding around her, feeling instead burning hands that grasped desperately at her flesh in need of healing. "Don't touch me!"

Shunsui's brow furrowed when, not a moment later, a bright pink surge of power leaked through the small opening in the closet door and rippled in the air. Once he'd pulled it open, the clan leader knelt on the ground and ripped Lucy from the confines of the small space. "Lucy-chan," he said over her screams, his breath catching painfully when she descended into unintelligible sobs. "Lucy-chan, you're safe."

It took more effort than he would have thought to pull the blanket from her grasp. By the time he was able to see the simple sleeping yukata she was wearing, her terrified brown eyes shot open.

Shunsui hadn't expected the feral gleam in Lucy's eyes as they locked onto him. Or for her to kick him between the legs.

Lucy scrambled out from beneath the man as he grunted and fell forward, making her way in desperation back to the safety of her small, dark room. "Can't touch me here," she whimpered. Her head fell to her hands, her fingers grasping roughly at her loose blonde hair. "C-Can't… Safe in the dark… In the dark…"

Shunsui slowly regained his composure and turned his head toward the closet, listening intently to the blonde's rambling to try and figure out just what was going on.

"Dark… S-So dark. Safe though. They can't get me in the dark. They leave me here. It's okay… Can't find me… C-Can't… Can't hurt me. I can't heal anyone. Not now. S-Safe… Won't t-touch me..."

"Lucy-chan," Shunsui whispered gently.

"No!" Lucy cried. "Chinogishiki… Make it stop. I hear it. Th-Them… F-Feel them touching…" She brought one hand down to her lips and bit into the flesh in desperation. "M-Make it dark. Make  _me_  dark… Please…"

Shunsui shook his head in confusion, slowly crawling forward until he was just next to the closet. And that was when he noticed that the only damage the room had sustained was to the window and door. Clothes were strewn across the floor, but those had been there before he'd come into the room in the first place. That could only mean the blonde had been sleeping in the closet before her power had flared.

"Lucy-chan. It's me. It's Shunsui," he said, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Do you remember me?"

"In the dark," she whimpered, not seeing the captain next to her. She bit her hand again, letting out a small, pained whimper as she broke the skin. "Gotta stay in the dark."

"We'll stay in the dark, alright?" he asked. "Can I join you?" Lucy's head turned at the pressure applied to her chin, and Shunsui sighed at the sight of heavy lines of tears staining her cheeks. Her wide, unseeing eyes that were lost in a haze. He carefully pulled her hand from her lips, frowning down at the teeth marks dotted with blood.

"Th-They can't find me in the dark," Lucy whimpered, unknowingly nodding her head. "Can't hurt me here."

Slowly, Shunsui moved forward. He pulled Lucy into his arms, then shifted so she was situated on his lap while he curled up in the closet. A few boxes on the floor were kicked out of the way, and when he was mildly comfortable, he found her head resting on his chest, just over his hidden scars.

"It's nice in the dark," he said, shutting the closet door most of the way. He reached out and waved off the staff that he knew was waiting for his order, but kept the barrier up so no one could enter.

"Keeps me safe," she whispered quickly, her chest heaving with every shuddering breath she took. "They can't use me now… Never again… Never again…"

It pained his heart as he listened to her rambling continue. Occasionally, the blonde would lift her injured hand and try to draw out more blood, but he tried to keep her from causing too much damage, and soon realized that she was slowing the bloodflow. It made sense, considering she couldn't just use kido to heal it.

"Can't have light. Light makes me hurt," Lucy whimpered. "Stay quiet... They'll forget me..."

"We'll stay quiet, Lucy-chan," Shunsui nodded. He brought one hand to her hair and gently brushed the long blonde strands behind her ear. "Nice and quiet, here in the dark."

He wasn't sure how long they sat there, but eventually her voice tapered off into slow, even breaths. Shunsui knew that he would have used a sedative kido on anyone else in this situation, but he didn't know if it would affect Lucy negatively like healing kido did. Either way, he would need to let Jushiro know about what happened, after he'd had a chance to talk with her.

Just as the clan leader was readying himself to stand and take Lucy back to his own room - because he knew for a fact she'd slept better there - she started to stir. His eyes cut down to the blonde, his brow furrowing in confusion and worry. The last thing he wanted was to have to call someone to sedate her with drugs, but he knew that if she woke up and started screaming again, he wouldn't have any other choice.

Lucy's eyes opened into slits, and she gazed at him through her lashes. Shunsui's breath caught in surprise when he saw that her irises had become a vibrant, murderous red.

"Shinigami," Lucy sneered.

"... Lucy-chan?" His eyes widened when the disdain on her face disappeared, only to be replaced by a small scowl. He'd never known a woman to look quite like this - Captain Soi Fon, notwithstanding - but especially not Lucy. She just seemed too sweet for it.

"Don't let her stay like this," she said, her voice a soft purr in comparison to how she normally spoke. "She thinks being confined is helping. I can feel it, though. It's breaking her."

"Lucy-chan, what's happening?" Shunsui frowned.

"I had to do something," the blonde smirked, showcasing the slight red tint to her teeth from the blood on her hand. "Lucy wasn't listening to me. I hope the power flares weren't too bad. I  _did_  try to hold back this time."

"This time?" Shunsui scowled. He gripped her shoulders and pushed the blonde away from himself just a little to look more clearly into her eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Technically, she asked for me." Lucy snickered playfully, her lips curving into a dark and devious grin as she leaned up to brush her nose against Shunsui's. "Ask her when you think the time's right," she rasped. Slowly, she moved closer to the stunned shinigami until her lips were a hairsbreadth from his. Her hands planted themselves on either side of his hips. "Take care of her for me. I can't let her die from what those monsters did to her."

Shunsui pushed the blonde away from himself again and scrambled out of the closet, whirling in place to glare at her once he was standing. She leaned back against the far wall, her knees drawn up and her yukata parted teasingly high on her slender, scarred thighs. If this was any other time, he might have thought she was coming on to him. There was a certain confidence about her, but her eyes... They were just so wrong, being such a deep red.

"Don't make a fuss," she hissed. "Lucy's barely holding on right now, and I can't do anything to stop it."

"I don't understand," Shunsui said, shaking his head. "What do you mean?"

"I've tried. Oh, believe me, I fucking  _tried_  to get her to see reason… She won't listen to me, no matter what I say."

"Who are you?" Shunsui asked.

"Me?" Lucy whispered, her grin widening until she looked as though she'd gone mad. "Just a concerned citizen, Shinigami." She carefully stood up and moved until she was just barely out of the closet. "It's good that you can tell I'm not her. I think we'd both be offended by that."

"So, you admit that you're not Lucy-chan," he mused softly. "Just tell me who you are. And what you did to her."

"I protected her," Lucy sighed. "I have to go back now, but…"

He frowned as her eyes flickered from a bright red to pitch black, watching as the blonde carefully moved to stand before him.

"She's my whole world," Lucy whispered, her brow pushing together sadly. "I'd do anything for her, but this isn't within my power. I'll kill for her, tear down the three worlds if I have to, just to see her smile."

"You sound oddly devoted to her," Shunsui mused.

"I am. I love her more than I really should, probably," she snorted. "So, Shinigami. Do this for her. Take care of her… And don't let the stubborn little brat delude herself into thinking that she's just a prisoner."

"What makes you think I can do anything to help her?"

"Because when Lucy tried to kill herself, it was  _you_  who helped her," Lucy answered. "I did what I could, and I'll keep trying, but... The only thing that broke through was you. Somehow... You helped her already, and Lucy just needs to see that again." She bit her lips and lightly grabbed Shunsui's hand with both of her own. "Please, Shinigami. You have to get her to talk to you. To tell you what's happening."

"Is she in danger?"

"If this doesn't stop soon, then I don't know what will happen to her," Lucy sighed. "She's not stable right now."

"Can I maybe get a hint?" he asked. "I'm a little at a loss here..."

Lucy shook her head with a sad, helpless smile. "Not enough time," she whispered. "Just promise me you'll help her, Shinigami. If I can, I'll come talk to you again sometime."

Shunsui finally nodded, then his eyes rounded as a serene smile swept across Lucy's lips before her eyes went back to their normal brown, and she collapsed into his arms. He quickly picked Lucy up and lowered the barrier around her room, taking the unconscious blonde back to his own room and laying her on the bed.

Just as he was setting the blanket over her, a soft step sounded behind him in the open doorway.

"How's Ishiko?" Shunsui asked his silent attendant.

"A little shaken up," Iwao answered. "But she's resting. I told her to take it easy for now until Lucy-sama is back on her feet. I won't have any problem assisting you both for the time being."

Shunsui nodded while gazing down at the woman in his bed.

"Is she alright, Shunsui-sama?"

"Just a bad dream, I think," he whispered back. There was no way he would bring up the odd interaction with someone that most definitely wasn't Lucy.  _'I really need to talk to her in the morning...'_

"That seemed like more than a bad dream," Iwao frowned. He waited as his leader crawled into the bed. Instead of curling around the blonde, Shunsui simply laid next to her. "Should we send for someone to see her?"

"I would say yes," Shunsui sighed, turning his head to look at Lucy, "But I'd rather talk to her about this first. It might be something she'll know what to do about. Otherwise, I'll send for Jushiro or Captain Unohana."

Iwao nodded, then gave the brunette a low bow before leaving the room, closing the door silently behind him.

Shunsui kept his gaze on the blonde as the minutes ticked by. He'd been so determined to help her before, to make Lucy see that she was no longer a prisoner. And even still, this night had made it glaringly obvious that he was failing. Miserably, in fact.

Why had no one told him that she was sleeping in a closet? Maybe Ishiko had known, and hadn't wanted to say anything. Or maybe Lucy had asked her not to. It seemed the blonde was more and more secretive and withdrawn without Jushiro there to help bring her out of her shell.

When her brother was around, Lucy smiled. She laughed, even. She was quiet and always polite, but Shunsui hadn't missed the signs that she really just didn't feel as though she belonged. It would be hard not to see how Lucy insisted on doing things for herself, because - as he'd heard her telling Ishiko one morning - she didn't deserve to have people waiting on her.

But Shunsui had thought - or hoped, really - that having Iwao's sister as an attendant would help Lucy. She would have someone to talk to whenever she needed it, even if that was all Lucy would allow the woman to do. And he'd been trying to keep his distance just a little bit so that Lucy could feel a little more at home with the woman that was her attendant.

There just had to be something else he could do to help Lucy, and he only hoped that talking to her would give him a better idea of what the young woman needed to feel a little more at home in this place. It wasn't going to be easy, he already knew, but the conversation with the red-eyed Lucy just wouldn't leave him alone. There had been something familiar about it, but he just couldn't place it. And when the Squad 8 captain looked at the clock, he winced at the late hour.

Eventually, he fell asleep once again, his thoughts swirling around the blonde that was lying just next to him.

Shunsui was in so deep a sleep that, as dawn arrived a few short hours later, he didn't realize his bedmate was carefully sitting up and crawling out of his bed. Lucy moved on silent feet across the wooden floor of Shunsui's room. She didn't bother with checking to see if anyone was awake and roaming the halls. The blonde already knew that the staff was working on their morning duties.

Instead, she moved to the window and slid it open. The wood scratched against the frame, and Lucy's breath caught when she heard Shunsui shift behind her. She stood frozen for several long minutes, listening to the steadily pouring rain outside and his even breathing.

Once she was sure he hadn't woken up, Lucy carefully crawled through the window, sliding it shut behind her.

It wasn't that she wanted to run away from Shunsui, but she just couldn't be there. Not right then. Lucy needed familiarity, to find a place that gave her a sense of comfort. She wanted to weep as she felt the soft mud beneath her bare feet once she stepped off of the walkway around the manor, but focused on where she could go. Her brother came to mind, but Lucy had to remind herself that Jushiro was a captain, and that he had responsibilities to tend to now that he was back on his feet.

She also needed to get out of the rain. Even though Lucy wanted nothing more than to take in everything around her, to soak in the cool dawn air, she was still healing. Still, she definitely couldn't linger. Anyone could see her, and the last thing Lucy wanted was to be found and dragged back inside again. While it was night and she was trying to sleep, Lucy wanted to feel walls surrounding her, but not now. She was torn on just what to do, and more than worried that this little stunt was going to end very badly for her when she did return to the Squad 8 captain.

So, she stuck to the shadows and kept her senses on high alert for anyone that came too close. Once she was away from the Kyouraku estate, Lucy paused and gazed sadly back at the building. She couldn't see it through the rain, aside from a faint outline in the distance. She wouldn't be away for long, she knew. It was just that she couldn't be there right then.

"I'm sorry, Captain Kyouraku," Lucy whispered, her voice disappearing into the pouring rain. "I'll be back."

She turned and ran as fast as her feet would carry her, a small smile lifting the corners of her lips as puddles of rainwater and thick mud splashed her legs and soaked into the fabric of her yukata. Through the woods that stood between Shunsui's home and finally onto the quiet streets of the Seireitei. Dashing between buildings and down long alleys when she sensed groups of shinigami that were getting ready to report in for the day.

By the time Lucy stopped, having let her legs decide where she would go, there was a large building looming before her. One that she'd seen many times while still in the Academy.

She didn't waste any time as she dashed around the side of the building just as the sun fully crested the horizon. Windows and doors were closed to keep the rain out, but Lucy knew one that would be open this early. Rain or shine, it always had been.

She could only hope that this particular thing hadn't changed.

The blonde rounded the final corner, quickly crouching behind a bush as several shinigami walked down a nearby path. Thankfully, her time spent in prison had only caused Lucy to hone the skills she'd already had before being locked up. It meant that her reiatsu was masked well enough for no one to detect it.

Once they were gone, she scrambled out from behind the bush, ignoring the way it caught her leg, or the stinging pain that came afterwards from the long cut running across her calf.

Her feet and legs were covered in mud by the time she came to the railing across from the room she sought. Lucy didn't care, not when she saw that the door was open. A powerful presence rested inside, and she bit her lips nervously while pulling herself up and over the railing to land with a nearly silent thud on the walkway.

With her hair soaked and plastered to her head and shoulders, the blonde took a slow step forward. She ignored how her legs trembled as she came to the doorway, and instead moved to kneel respectfully with her head bowed. Just like she always had before.

"I was wondering when you would show yourself…" His voice was the same as she remembered. Low, soft yet gravelly.

Lucy's lips curved into a grateful smile as she heard slow footsteps approaching, only broken up by a small clack of wood on the floor as he came closer. "I hope I'm still allowed to-"

"Of course. You have always been welcome here."

Her head lifted just as a soft towel was settled over her shoulders, and tears dotted her lashes when she saw the wrinkled, aged face of the Captain-Commander for the first time in three centuries. "I'm a little soggy," Lucy whispered. "And muddy, too... But… I just…"

"You needed to come," Genryusai nodded. He let out a quiet groan as he knelt in front of the young woman, resting his walking stick that held his zanpakutou on the floor at his side. "I understand."

Lucy sat in a comfortable silence as Genryusai used the towel to dry her off a little more. He still smelled like burning embers and cinnamon. Just like she remembered. Of all the things that had changed, even though she hadn't seen them, he was the same. He was just as warm and inviting, like a grandfather she'd never had. "I'll make a mess, though... I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry yourself about that, now," he whispered. Genryusai's hands stilled as Lucy moved forward and wrapped her arms around him, burrowing beneath his captain's haori and resting her cheek against his bound beard. Keeping the towel around her suddenly shuddering shoulders, the aged shinigami pulled Lucy further into his arms when he heard the first sob break past her lips. "Child," he sighed.

Lucy shook her head and simply held him tighter. It was the first time since her release from prison that she truly felt safe enough to let loose her emotions. No matter whether or not her power went out of control - even though it had really only happened the one time - she had faith that the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13 would be able to withstand it. She wasn't nearly as powerful as him, and she knew that.

Even in the closet for the past couple weeks, thinking that she'd been safe from her memories, Lucy knew it wasn't the case. Everything was different now, and she just felt so... So lost. So confused. And the last time she could remember feeling like this, Jushiro had brought her to the older man, and they'd had tea together. He'd asked if she really wanted to be a shinigami, or if it was just her older brother trying to force her into following his footsteps. For the first time in Lucy's life, someone had asked what she'd wanted. Her older brother just knew that he needed to get her away from the family when he found out what was happening, and his solution had been to go to the Academy.

"It's alright," Genryusai whispered. "A little dirt never hurt anyone."

And that only had Lucy crying harder. Because even though she was sitting in front of the most powerful man in the Gotei 13, dirty and crying and soaked to the bone, he only wanted to make her feel better about something so simple. So trivial. A little dirt was nothing in comparison to what she was feeling, but he already knew that. Just as she knew that it was his way of handling problems sometimes - focusing on the easiest ones to tackle, then moving on to the next.

So, even as Genryusai's lieutenant came rushing in, his hand on his sword and ready to defend his leader at the foreign sounds coming from within the room that was used for simple tea ceremonies, Lucy let herself cry. And the old man did nothing to stop her, instead simply using one wrinkled, scarred hand to gently brush over her slowly drying hair.

Chojiro froze in his tracks at the unseemly sight of the crumpled blonde wrapped in the Captain-Commander's arms. His hands fell to his sides in time with his jaw dropping open in shock. The older man didn't look his way, but Chojiro knew what was expected of him.

He carefully backed out of the room, bowing his head while closing the door, then turned and let out a heavy breath while going to prepare a second pot of tea. From what he remembered about the blonde girl's visits from before, she had a habit of putting away quite a bit of tea, and getting the Gotei 13's leader to do the same, in a matter of minutes.

With a small smirk, the silver-haired lieutenant went about making the tea. He was very curious to see what would happen if Lucy ever encountered the whirlwind of consumption that was the 11th Division's lieutenant. Yachiru had seemingly brought the life back into Genryusai's days after Lucy was imprisoned. He'd listened to a great many stories from the older man about how much Yachiru reminded him of the blonde. Her spirit, her smile, how happy and carefree she seemed. Most importantly, the fact that both Yachiru and Lucy were able to get away with quite a bit from the old man.

While Chojiro didn't trust the blonde nearly as much as he once had, he was sure of one thing. Something that he'd nearly missed while leaving the room that held Genryusai and Lucy. If the way the old shinigami captain was smiling against her golden hair was any indication, Lucy had taken a part of the old man with her into Muken, and he was finally getting it back.

Now, the question was whether or not Chojiro was expected to contact Captain Kyouraku to let him know where his ward had disappeared to. Then again, it had been a while since anything had gone haywire in the Seireitei, so maybe getting the usually lazy 8th Division captain on a frantic search would be a little humorous.

It was with that thought in mind that the Squad 1 lieutenant turned with the tea tray and started back toward the room holding Lucy and Genryusai. This should prove to be an interesting morning, that was for sure.

 


	5. Breath of Life

"-sama! Shunsui-sama, wake up!"

Shunsui groaned with a small frown as he rolled onto his other side. "Iwao… Five more minutes."

"Shunsui-sama," Iwao said frantically, crawling onto the clan leader's bed and shaking the sleeping shinigami's shoulder. "Lucy-sama is missing!"

"Mmm… Lucy-chan," Shunsui mumbled. It took several moments for his attendant's words to sink it, but when they finally did, Shunsui bolted upright in his bed. Then promptly fell right back down when his nose was smashed against Iwao's face.

"Oh, Shunsui-sama, are you okay?"

"Fine," he groaned, holding a hand to his nose and blinking away the few tears that had instantly risen to his lashes. "Where is she?"

"I-I don't know. I came in to check on you both and she wasn't in bed. Then I looked in the bathroom and…" He paused and looked down at his hands as Shunsui sat up again, much slower that time. "Then one of the house guards said he saw footprints leading away from your room."

"How many?" Shunsui threw back the blanket and stood, making his way over to his closet to start getting ready for the day. Normally, he would have at least taken a quick shower before getting dressed, but he just didn't have a clue whether this was Lucy trying to run away, or if she'd somehow been taken.

"Just one set, I think," Iwao said. He rushed over to the closet and started pulling out Shunsui's clothes, helping the captain get dressed faster than normal. It wasn't normal in the slightest for the clan leader to panic, but with Lucy's recent health issues and everything from the night before, Iwao understood the necessity for speed right then.

Shunsui summoned a hell butterfly and whispered a quick message before sending it off to Jushiro. Just the basics. Lucy was missing, and he had no idea where she would have gone, so he was going out to search for her. As the little black insect fluttered away, he rubbed his hands over his face and felt Iwao pulling his hair into its standard ponytail with the ease of centuries of practice in his fingers.

Once he was ready, Shunsui made his way over to the window and pushed it open, frowning as he heard the rough scrape of the wood on the frame. If Lucy had gone out that way, wouldn't he have heard it? He wasn't that heavy of a sleeper when he hadn't been drinking. And Shunsui just hadn't been all that interested in indulging the night before, for a change.

Still, he hopped out of the window - regardless of how tight a fit it was - and landed just next to the small, barefooted prints in the drying mud. It wasn't hard to track them through the dirt and onto the path that led away from his home, but Shunsui found his heart hammering in his chest when he came to the paved streets of the Seireitei and his trail died.

The rain that had stopped in the past hour had also washed away any evidence of which way Lucy might have run off. Or been taken. And he refused to rule that out at all just because there had only been one set of footprints. There just had to be a way to determine where she'd gone.

He focused as deeply as possible on the memory of her reiatsu while running down a random street, from the days he'd been healing her with their reiatsu surrounding them. And from the night before, when her power had flared in the closet she'd slept in. He couldn't sense her anywhere. Just like when he and Jushiro had been searching for her before.

It was his job to keep Lucy safe, and he hadn't done that at all. Ever since getting the blonde out of prison, Shunsui hadn't done a thing to really help her. And he'd so foolishly thought that he was.

Even worse was that his clan's reputation was on the line here. While that normally wasn't something Shunsui bothered himself with, more often than not, he'd made that promise to them. That he would keep Lucy contained, and that she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone.

"Shunsui!"

His head turned while he ran, and he found his best friend easily keeping pace beside him. Still, he was in a panic. What if someone took her out from under his nose? He'd heard all about the captain's meeting from Jushiro, where the Captain-Commander had told the others about her and where she was staying. About Mayuri's interest in her. And he knew a little about her past with Jushiro's family in general. Maybe one of them had found out about her release, and had staged an abduction.

"Jushiro, I'm so sorry," he huffed.

"Sorry?" Jushiro asked. "Why?"

"She's missing," Shunsui answered, putting on another burst of speed. He had to find her. Preferably before his friend killed him for not protecting her. "I should have kept a better eye on her."

Jushiro frowned and pulled Shunsui to a quick stop, then kept a tight grip on his arm while flash stepping up to a nearby rooftop so they had a little more privacy. "Shunsui," he said softly. "Just relax."

"I can't just relax," he said shakily. "Lucy-chan's gone. And after what happened last night, I-"

"What happened?" Jushiro asked, a patient smile on his lips. If his friend, always so calm and relaxed, was going to freak out, then it fell to him to be the soothing voice of reason.

Shunsui ran a hand over his face and looked out across the Seireitei. There was no guarantee she was even with the walls. Maybe she was out in the Rukongai somewhere. "She had a bad dream," he sighed. "It's a long story, but I let her sleep in my bed again last night."

"In your bed," Jushiro said flatly.

"She wasn't sleeping well, and I know she slept fine with me," Shunsui reasoned. He wasn't going to tell Jushiro about just where he'd found Lucy sleeping, what she'd been saying, or even the odd meeting with that other being that had taken control of her body. He wanted to talk to Lucy about it first. "I didn't try anything. We were just sleeping."

Unless something that had happened the night before was the reason she was missing. If he didn't find her soon, then Shunsui was definitely telling Jushiro about it.

"So, what clues do you have so far?" Jushiro asked.

"Footsteps outside of my window, leading down the path and away from the house. The rain washed everything away though." He let out a heavy sigh and looked around, then turned to Jushiro. "I think we need to start a search for her."

"Or we could quietly ask around and see if any of the captains have seen her."

Shunsui nodded quickly. "We'll start with yours and work our way up. I really don't need Yama-jii knowing she's missing… Or anyone else for that matter."

"They will be discreet," Jushiro sighed. "I'll take the odd numbers, and we'll meet up before going to see him." He placed a calming hand on Shunsui's shoulder, then made his way toward the Squad 11 barracks. It was unlikely that Kenpachi had come across Lucy, but he was the first on the list.

Shunsui bit his lip and jumped down from the roof, turning toward the Squad 12 research facility. He had to find Lucy, that was all he cared about right then.

And all he kept hoping while bursting through the doors to the Seireitei's Research and Development, was that he wouldn't find the blonde strapped to a table or anything else, caught in captain Kurotsuchi's clutches.

"Captain Kyouraku," Akon said flatly, pausing in carrying an overly high stack of papers down the hall to look at the brunette.

"Where's your captain, Akon-san?"

The third seat tilted his head to the large double doors at the far end of the hall. "Researching something, as always. He's in a damn foul mood."

Shunsui sighed and made his way forward without another word. It wouldn't even bother him if Mayuri called him every derogatory name in the book just for interrupting. Just as long as Lucy wasn't here. Even though he wanted to find the blonde, the last thing he needed was to have to explain to anyone why she was being used as a test subject.

* * *

" _Does it look like I've seen someone wandering around?" Kenpachi growled. "Unless you wanna fight, get lost."_

Jushiro had really already ruled the Squad 11 captain out for having seen Lucy, but it was while he was making his way to the 7th Division that he realized Shunsui had a lot more captains to deal with. Since Aizen's betrayal, three captain positions - all in odd numbered divisions - were left unfilled, and while the lieutenants for those particular divisions were running things until replacements were sent in, they weren't privy to the information given in the captain's meetings.

" _I'm sorry, Captain Ukitake. I haven't seen your sister," Komamura said quietly. "Would you like assistance in searching for her?"_

Jushiro had, of course, refused. He wasn't all that worried about Lucy, to be honest. She'd always had a tendency to sneak around when she could get away with it, even before he'd joined the Academy and left her care - and, eventually and unknowingly, her torture - to their family.

He glanced around at the small platoons that made their way down the streets, then let out a heavy sigh while continuing on his way.

" _The prisoner Captain-Commander Yamamoto told us about is missing," Byakuya mused, giving Jushiro a bland look and a slow blink. "I have not seen anyone matching that description. Are you sending out a search party?"_

Even though Shunsui was supposed to take the even-numbered squads, Jushiro had chanced upon Byakuya while walking over to the 4th Division.

And with each captain that he spoke with, he did start getting just a little worried about his younger sister. Maybe something really had happened to her. And when he thought about it, Shunsui wasn't one for fits of panic.

" _I'm sorry, Captain Ukitake," Captain Unohana said with a gentle smile. "I'm sure she'll turn up soon though. Captain-Commander Yamamoto wouldn't have allowed her release from Muken if she was that much of a threat. You know that."_

With a shake of his head, Jushiro turned at the familiar cadence of flash steps across rooftops. And with a flourish, his best friend appeared at his side, the bright pink, flowered kimono over his captain's haori fluttering in the wind. "I take it you had no luck," he sighed.

"None," Shunsui said with a quick shake of his head. He cringed while looking up at the 1st Division building that loomed ahead of them. This was definitely not going to be pleasant, but there was no getting around telling the head captain about Lucy's disappearance. "We could, uh… look again?"

"Shunsui, he needs to know," Jushiro said encouragingly. Honestly, the sight of his friend actually gulping was worth remembering. The last time he'd seen Shunsui like this was when it they were about to graduate from the Academy. He'd been a nervous wreck that day, since he'd gone two weeks without a drop of sake to keep his nerves at bay. But that had been a requirement for the brunette, just because Jushiro had refused to let him fall behind after the loss of his brother and sister-in-law had taken such a heavy toll on him.

"Yeah," Shunsui sighed. "Well, let's go face the music."

The two walked into the building and ascended several flights of stairs to reach the catwalk that would lead to Genryusai's office. They'd gotten lost in the 1st Division building so many times over the last several centuries, that the old man had forced both Jushiro and Shunsui to memorize its layout. They could get around now, blindfolded.

"By the way, I did  _not_  mention Lucy being missing to Mayuri," Shunsui frowned. "Better if he doesn't know, y'know?"

"I agree," Jushiro nodded.

A soft breeze ruffled the edges of his uniform, and Shunsui brought a hand up to his straw hat to keep it in place as a reflex. His steps faltered after a moment when he thought he heard a bright peal of laughter in the air. Based on where they were at, it just wasn't possible. And if it was, that would have to have been Yachiru. Except, she was nowhere to be seen and the laugh wasn't quite so childlike.

As fast as it came, the sound was gone and he was quickly catching up with Jushiro just before they stopped at the door leading to the office. His fist lifted to knock and announce their presence, and he froze as the door opened to reveal the Captain-Commander, smiling widely and crinkling his ancient face more than usual. And a dirty, rumpled blonde with bright brown eyes and an even brighter smile, wearing only a simple yukata. And no shoes.

"Lucy-chan!" Shunsui sagged in relief at the sight of the blonde. He didn't even think as he moved forward and pulled her into a nearly bone-crushing hug. And once the familiar feel of her smaller, softer body was molded to his, the tension and fear that had been eating away at him since waking to find her missing, dissipated.

"U-Um… Captain K-Kyouraku?" Lucy sputtered. She didn't move though, not even to try and get her hands up from where they were pinned at her sides.

"Thank kami you're alright," Shunsui whispered. "I thought…"

Jushiro chuckled almost silently and shook his head at the wide-eyed stare his sister sent his way. She'd always shied away from touching people, and he understood why, but Shunsui was a hugger. He always had been. "Shunsui, you can let go now."

But the Squad 8 captain simply shook his head and held the blonde tighter. Hours. He'd been searching and worrying about her for hours, and here she was. In the safest place she could be. Laughing and having a grand ol' time with the leader of the Gotei 13.

"Yama-jii, why didn't you send me a hell butterfly and let me know she was here?"

Lucy frowned, her lips pursing angrily. "I'm not a child," she whispered.

"Lucy decided to join me for my morning tea," Genryusai shrugged, his lips still curved into a grin. "We might have lost track of time."

"Well, I need to know if she'll be here," Shunsui replied. "Anything could have happened to her."

Jushiro winced as he caught the sight of Lucy's hands balling into fists. "Shunsui…"

"Sweet little Lucy-chan-"

"Shunsui," Jushiro said again. "Maybe you-"

"- never would have thought to look here for her, and - OW!" Shunsui drew back and pushed the blonde until she was an arm's length away from him, his eyes honing in on the deep indentation in his chest where her teeth had clamped down on his flesh. "What the-"

"I'm  _not_  a child," Lucy spat. "And you don't own me, Captain Kyouraku."

"I never said I did," Shunsui frowned.

"If I'm such a burden, then just put me back in Muken."

"You're not a burden," he said while lifting his gaze to meet with her burning honey eyes. With the way she was talking to him, he half expected her eyes to be that sadistic red they'd been the night before.

"That's not what everyone else thinks," Lucy sneered. "I never asked for this. And while I'm more than happy that I could at least help my brother out when he needed me the most, this just… It's not working."

"Lucy," Jushiro sighed. His hand froze in place before he could reach out to her when she cast a furious glare at him. "No one thinks that."

"Yes, Onii-chan," she hissed. "They do. I get that I'm a criminal, and I should have gone right back to prison after we knew you were healed. This… All of this…"

She shook her head and turned her eyes to the wooden panels of the floor, ignoring the next gentle breeze that had the matted ends of her hair fighting to dance in its embrace. "I-I want to go back to prison," she finally said. "Because this isn't going to last. I know that."

"Lucy-chan," Shunsui said. "You're my ward now. Under my clan's protection. I made sure you wouldn't have to go back to prison, before I even knew you were Jushiro's sister."

"Just stop," she cringed. "Stop teasing me."

"Who's teasing-"

"Stop teasing me with promises of sunshine and flowers and happiness!" she shouted, taking a swift step away from the three captains. "I don't get those things, and I understand that."

No matter how badly she wanted to keep it to herself, Lucy just couldn't stop the words from spilling out. Spending time with the Captain-Commander, after her tears had finally slowed, had been wonderful. Just like she remembered from three centuries before. He'd made her feel as though she hadn't missed out on everything else. As though she'd been right there the whole time. He told her stories of the goings-on around the Seireitei just like he used to, not as though it was a history lesson but simply recent news that she might not have heard yet.

"Lucy-chan, you-"

"Stop," Lucy snapped. "Just stop pretending, okay? I-I can't… I can't do this!" She turned and, in one swift motion, vaulted over the railing and let herself fall several stories toward the hard, unforgiving ground. It wasn't a suicide attempt, not in the slightest.

"Lucy!" Jushiro shouted, leaning over the rail with his eyes wide in horror. He held his breath as the wind whipped at her hair and her yukata parted high on her thighs, and finally let it out in a relieved huff when he saw her flash stepping off into the distance. From one rooftop to the next.

Genryusai let out a slow breath, shaking his head as he caught the small ripples of disturbed reiatsu from the disappearing blonde. "You two stepped in it this time," he muttered. "And she was so happy…"

"Yama-jii, I've gotta go and catch up to her," Shunsui said quickly while stepping up onto the railing. "I don't-"

"Yes, I would say you  _should_  follow her," Genryusai nodded. "And apologize, you idiot."

"Jushiro, I'll see you later on." Shunsui shook his head and jumped from the railing. He didn't have time to sit around and ask the old man for advice or anything else. Because the most important person right then was Lucy. She was hurting, spouting off nonsense left and right, and all he could keep thinking about was that weird possession from the night before.

The odd being with red or black eyes that had been in her body, talking to him, telling him things about the blonde that he never would have known otherwise.

He couldn't see her anywhere as he sped over rooftops and down the streets, but Lucy wasn't trying to mask her reiatsu this time around. Or, if she was, the woman was just too flustered to do a very good job of it.

When he realized that she was heading back to his home, Shunsui sighed in relief once again. He touched down on the path less than a minute after Lucy did, watching as she disappeared into the house. His head turned slightly and he waved to one of the passing guards.

"No one leaves or enters without my permission for the next twenty-four hours," he said in a low, controlled tone. "Lucy-chan won't leave unless accompanied by myself or Jushiro. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Shunsui-sama."

"I want guards posted on rotation. No breaks in the watch. Don't let her slip through if she tries to leave like that again."

"Y-Yes, Shunsui-sama," the guard stuttered. "It won't happen again, sir."

Without another word, the clan leader made his way inside, running through everything in his head of what he could possibly say to make things right. The things she'd said before running off, what happened the night before.

It wasn't surprising when his feet carried him to her room, the door and window already having been replaced. And less surprising was when he opened the door and made his way inside, only to find her kimonos thrown everywhere and the door to the closet partially open. It didn't take a genius to see that Lucy was using the closet as her own little 'safe place', but what he couldn't understand was just why she'd yelled at him in the first place. Or why she didn't feel safe.

"Lucy-chan?"

"... What do you want?" she muttered.

Shunsui closed the door and made his way across the room to kneel in front of the closet. He didn't even try to open it though. Most likely, she would just hold it closed, and if the blonde was at least willing to talk to him like this, then he would take it. "About earlier," he started.

"Just ignore what I said," Lucy sighed. She shifted slightly in her spot and tightened her grip on the door while peeking through the small opening to see Shunsui. "I was being stupid."

"Lucy-chan, it's not stupid to say how you feel," he frowned. "But I do want to talk to you about it. Because that… After what happened last night…"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"The bump on Ishiko's head from hitting the wall begs to differ," he said.

"I… I hurt her?"

"You didn't mean to. She knows that." He considered reaching out just to touch the door, but the smallest twitch in his fingers had the blonde on the other side pushing it closed just a little more. "I'm not mad at you, though. Just really, really confused."

"I'm a criminal." Lucy lowered her eyes to take in the still-dirty yukata she'd yet to change out of. "What's there to say? I don't belong here, Captain Ky-"

"Please," he whispered, "Just call me Shunsui."

Lucy sighed and tightened her grip on the door. "I don't belong here… Shunsui-sama. I belong in Muken."

"You don't, though."

"I killed my classmates," Lucy said. "I know you're already aware of that. I  _killed_  them. And that little girl. Why would you want a murderer in your home?"

"Because-"

"Before you knew I was Jushiro's sister," she insisted. Her head slowly lifted so she could see the stricken look on his face. The sheer surprise that she would even ask him something like that. But he'd said it himself; Shunsui had made sure the prisoner he was getting out of Muken would be his ward, under his protection. He knew nothing about her before they met, not even that she was a woman, so Lucy figured she deserved to know just why he'd agreed to something like that in the first place. "I want to know why…"

"The honest answer?" he asked.

"Yes."

Shunsui removed his hat and set it on the wooden floor just next to him, then continued his search in the small slat of space they were speaking through to find her eyes. He couldn't see her though. "When I went to my clan's elders with this idea, they had to know how I would… control… the person I was requesting for release."

It wasn't hard to feel the sudden ripple of burning reiatsu that leaked from the blonde.

"My answer had been that I would take you in for the duration of Jushiro's treatment. You would be under careful guard, and at the first sign of trouble, I was willing to eliminate you."

Lucy stayed silent, simply watching as a flash of guilt crossed over the shinigami captain's features. Unhidden, plainly sitting for her to see.

"Some of them were alright with that, but others… Well, they asked if I was judging you too harshly." His lips quirked into a small smirk while he gazed at his hands. "No one knew who you were, Lucy-chan. But they wanted me to really think about it. And when I did, I realized something."

"... What was that?" Her breath caught a moment later when he looked up and instantly met her eyes. Almost as though he could see right into her soul.

"I realized that someone with your ability could help so many people, end the suffering of so many who need it. And I knew… No matter what anyone told me, I was going to make sure you were never sent back to Muken."

"So, you just wanted to use me," she scowled.

"No," he insisted. "I mean, not like that. I  _asked_  if you would help Jushiro. And if you were willing to help other people with your abilities, then there's nothing you could do in Muken. But-"

"I'm still just a prisoner." Lucy's lips trembled with bitter rage as she slammed the closet shut.

"Lucy-chan, wait! That's not it!"

"Leave me alone…"

"Please," he sighed. "I didn't mean it-" Shunsui froze as a brilliant pink light began glowing through the door, leaking out from under it and around the edges and pulsing softly as her anger rose. "Lucy-chan…"

"Leave me alone… Captain Kyouraku."

The conversation with the 'other' being from the night before came crashing through Shunsui's head, and he knew right then, something had to give. He'd wanted to talk to her about what had happened, find out if there was some way he could make her feel more at ease, but there was no way to do that if she couldn't stand being near him in the first place.

_"Don't let her stay like this. She thinks being confined is helping. I can feel it, though. It's breaking her."_

_"Take care of her for me. I can't let her die from what those monsters did to her."_

"Lucy-chan, I need to know something," he finally said.

"I said-"

"Tell me why your eyes turned red last night."

The blonde's reiatsu faded until the room was only lit with the gentle afternoon light streaming in from the window. Shunsui only hoped what he was saying would get through to her.

"You were biting your hand," he continued. "Making yourself bleed. And when I got ready to take you to my room, you… You woke up, and your eyes were red. But it wasn't you, I know that much."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She couldn't let him hear the way her heart had started pounding in her chest. How her whole body trembled in fear of the clan leader knowing about her zanpakutou. She wasn't supposed to have one anymore, but Chinogishiki's spirit was still with her. A small part of his blade was lodged in her body from the explosion that day. It was still enough for her to speak with him, and even for her to manifest her shikai, but no one was supposed to  _know_  that, except Jushiro.

"There's nothing to be scared of here, Lucy-chan," Shunsui said, silently shuffling closer to the closet door. "I won't be mad, and I  _promise_ … You won't go back to prison. I just have to know what happened."

"Nothing happened," she whispered. If she spoke any louder, he would hear it. That underlying urge to spill the truth right then.  _'Safe here… Safe in the dark. He can't hurt me if I'm in here. He'll be upset if he knows. I'm dangerous with Chinogishiki. I'll get locked up if anyone finds out about him.'_

" _Lucy, that's enough! Talk to him, damnit!"_ the zanpakutou spirit roared.

"Why do you stay in the closet like this?" Shunsui asked. Maybe a different question, a different tactic, would help to loosen her lips a little. Maybe.

"..."

"I just want to understand, Lucy-chan. That's all."

"..."

' _He doesn't want to understand me. He wants to control me. What am I doing here? I should be in the dark. In Muken. That was safe. So, so safe…'_

" _Lucy, you have to stop this,"_ Chinogishiki sighed.  _"He's trying to help and reach out to you. Just take what he's offering."_

' _Maybe if I do something, they'll lock me up again… No, they'll execute me. He told me himself. I'm just a prisoner here. Always a prisoner…'_

Shunsui sat outside the closet for several painfully long minutes, and finally decided that there was nothing more he could say to her right then. Lucy had shut him out, in more ways than one, and she wasn't going to come around with him badgering her about it.

It felt wrong as he picked up his hat and stood. His stomach churned when he made his way toward the bedroom door, pausing just when he reached it to look back at the closet. "I didn't want it to come to this, Lucy-chan," he said. "You can't leave the grounds until I know that I can trust you."

Lucy bit her lips and clamped her eyes shut, keeping any protests she had to herself. He wouldn't listen to her anyway, so what was the point?

"I promised you would never be a prisoner again, and I won't break that promise," he continued. "But if you can't be honest with me, then this is just how things will have to be. I… I hope you understand that."

The blonde held her breath until the door closed and she heard his footsteps receding down the hall. And even then, she held it just a little longer until she knew Shunsui was really gone. Then, all at once, her lungs pushed every bit of oxygen out of her in a sob, instantly muffled by her hand clamping tightly over her lips.

" _Idiot,"_ Chinogishiki spat.

" _Not now,"_  Lucy silently answered.  _"Please… Not now, Chino."_

The zanpakutou sneered at the sight of rain beating down on the barren lands of Lucy's inner world, shielding his head while running to duck under a barely blossoming sakura tree. Lucy didn't know that he wasn't talking about her, but even if he tried to explain it, she wouldn't listen. She never listened to him when he needed her to. Not since he'd accidentally killed those students…

* * *

"Shunsui-sama, I'm really worried about her."

"I don't know what you expect me to do, Ishiko," he said, frowning at the stack of papers on his desk. The fact that Lucy's attendant had left the estate to come all the way down to his division was cause enough for concern, but he really was at a loss for how to handle it.

"She won't even see her brother," Ishiko insisted. "He was so upset yesterday when he left, and…"

Shunsui sat back in his chair, glancing over to Nanao's empty desk. He still hadn't told her all that much about Lucy, aside from the fact that she was his clan's ward and Jushiro's sister. Then again, he didn't know much more about the blonde, himself.

"She'll talk through the door, so I know she's at least  _alive_ ," Ishiko continued. "But she's not eating anything I bring her. I just… I'm trying to be there for her, but I don't know what else I can do… And I don't want her to think I'm giving up on her, because-"

This was what he'd been afraid of as soon as he'd walked out of Lucy's room three days prior. That he was making a mistake. Part of him had been desperate to go back into her room and tear that stupid closet apart, rip her out of it, and just hold her. Remind her that things were nothing like before. She wasn't just some piece of meat to him, some faceless person with the ability to heal anyone.

But he'd cut off her contact with the outside world. With the Captain-Commander, even. Anyone could come and visit with Lucy, if they wanted to, but she didn't have that luxury. After her first taste of fresh air that wasn't clouded with an escort watching her every move, he'd confined her to his home. He took away the only freedom Lucy had.

"Ishiko," Shunsui said as he grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and started writing down a message. The attendant, nearly hysterical with worry after all her ranting, stopped talking in an instant. "I need you to deliver this for me. It's very important."

"Y-Yes, Shunsui-sama." The raven-haired woman accepted the folded paper with a deep bow, then stared down at the writing on the outside. "T-To Captain Kuchiki?"

"Yes," he nodded. "Once it's delivered, head home and get Lucy dressed."

"For what occasion?" Ishiko asked.

"Nothing special," he chuckled. "But something more than a yukata would probably be for the best."

Ishiko nodded and bowed a final time before rushing out of Shunsui's office, leaving him to stand and stretch just as Nanao came through the door.

"Ah, my Nanao-chan," Shunsui grinned. "So, I'm taking the day off now."

"... What?"

* * *

Lucy just didn't have the energy to fight Ishiko off as the woman came barreling into her room. She hadn't slept since the day she'd gone to see the Captain-Commander. She was too scared to do it and have another nightmare. For Shunsui to come in and see her like that again, the thought was unbearable.

So, she'd decided, it was better to just stay awake. She only left the closet to use the bathroom and get small sips of water here and there. She was hungry, but there was no point in bothering to eat. She'd gone much longer without food while locked up, and even though the field surrounding her had kept Lucy's body in a form of stasis, she'd still felt phantom hunger pains.

This was much more real though, but not bad enough to warrant a nibble here and there of the food Ishiko tried to leave for her.

Lucy had been lying on the bed when Ishiko came in, just staring at the wall and unwilling to move, even to look at the woman. She was silent as Ishiko bathed her, then applied just enough makeup to get rid of the dark circles Lucy was sure had taken up residence beneath her eyes. She stayed in place and didn't fight it when her attendant put on her tabi and geta, then gently made her stand up.

Her hair was pulled into a much simpler bun than was normal for her dress, but Lucy didn't question it. There was no point in speaking in the first place, especially since Ishiko hadn't said a word to her. Instead, she played the part of a doll and allowed herself to be pushed and pulled one way, then another, until Ishiko nodded her approval and started leading Lucy to the door of her bedroom.

"Shunsui-sama should-" Ishiko began, only to stop mid-sentence and smile at the sight of her clan leader making his way down the hall with an easy smile. "Nevermind."

Lucy watched out of the corner of her eye as Ishiko's cheeks flushed while she bowed to the captain before taking her leave of them. Her eyes remained downcast, just open enough that she wouldn't fall asleep while standing.

"Lucy-chan," Shunsui said softly. "You look wonderful."

"... Thank you, Captain Kyouraku."

"I was hoping you'd want to join me," he said while moving to stand beside the blonde. "I'm going on a little trip."

"If… If that's your wish, Captain Kyouraku."

He frowned for a moment, but forced his smile to return while he and the blonde began walking down the hall and out of the house. "You know, you can call me Shunsui," he chuckled. "I've told you that before."

Lucy bit her lip while descending the stairs and carefully walking along the path leading away from the main house, toward the entrance gate. She couldn't be rude though. He was her guardian, and she was a ward.

Three days of time to think had cleared up several things for the blonde. She'd been treating the leader of the Kyouraku clan, one of the great Noble clans, as though he was just some bumbling idiot. As though she didn't owe him every ounce of air she breathed and light that shone on her skin, even through the window of her cell… Or room. He deserved respect, not her insubordination. And the title of ward was no higher, in her eyes right then, than the rank of a slave.

" _Lucy, you're not a slave. Why are you acting like this now?"_

The blonde forced herself to ignore the mental image of worried onyx eyes framed with deep raven hair. "As you wish… Shunsui-sama."

The Squad 8 captain shook his head in resignation while he led the blonde through the streets of the Seireitei. It wasn't as though he expected her to be all that happy with him, but she was coming along too easily. Just going with whatever he told her to do. And based on the few times he'd really interacted with her, Shunsui knew this wasn't like Lucy in the slightest.

The two walked in a strained, uncomfortable silence, but he wasn't sure whether it would be better to just leave it or try to make a joke. She wasn't looking around, just staring at the ground as they continued on their way.

"Where are we going?" Lucy finally asked.

Shunsui nearly tripped over his feet at the sound of her voice, but brought Lucy to a stop in front of a large gate. "I figured you could use some fresh air," he said. His attention was drawn away from the blonde as a guard came to greet them. "We're here to see Captain Kuchiki. He's expecting us."

Lucy's eyes widened at that.  _'Ginrei Kuchiki? Why has he brought me here?'_ She'd never had the opportunity to meet the famed Kuchiki leader, and Lucy certainly had no clue just where that particular clan had stood where her sentencing was concerned. Maybe not everyone had known about it, but the sages in Central 46 were made up of elders from each of the noble clans. Elders, she had to remind herself, that the man named Aizen had murdered while she was still locked in Muken.

Shunsui smiled a little more easily when he saw Byakuya and Renji making their way down the path from the main house. "Byakuya-san," he chuckled. "Renji-san."

Lucy's head remained bowed as she froze next to Shunsui. She couldn't help the sudden tremble that shot through her limbs at the two powerful presences that stopped in front of them. It was even worse when Shunsui's finger hooked under her chin and slowly lifted her head. The most she could do at that point was force herself to stay silent, and keep her eyes lowered respectfully.

Byakuya's grey eyes scrutinized every detail of the well-kempt woman at Shunsui's side. She was perfectly poised, showing only the deepest respect that any clan would be proud to say their members possessed. "She is the one, then," he mused.

Lucy's eyes rounded in horror and snapped up to see the fine features and adornments that only belonged to the leader of the Kuchiki clan. Without meaning to, Lucy shuffled back slightly while turning her gaze toward her 'guardian'. "Sh-Shunsui-sama," she whimpered, "Why are we here?"

Shunsui missed the confusion in both Byakuya's and Renji's eyes as he turned toward the blonde. "I've got a surprise for you, Lucy-chan," he said. "Now, this is Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the 6th Division. And his lieutenant, Renji Abarai."

Her skin prickled with foreboding while looking back to the raven-haired captain. The last she knew, Ginrei Kuchiki had been the clan leader, and the captain of the 6th Division. Then again, so many other things had changed while she was in prison, so it made sense for this to be different as well.

But when the blonde realized that she hadn't even given him a proper greeting, she made a small sound of surprise and bent low at the waist. "M-My apologies, K-Kuchiki-sama," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The group watched as Lucy stood from her bow with grace, then turned toward Renji and gave him the same treatment - her bow for the lieutenant only slightly higher than it had been for Byakuya. "Abarai-sama."

And once she was upright again, Lucy's head stayed bowed. Shunsui hadn't really answered her question, but he'd started talking quietly with Byakuya while the noble led them toward the main house.

"So," Renji sighed, looking down at the blonde. "You're a friend of Captain Kyouraku's, huh?"

Lucy shrunk in on herself slightly. "N-No," she whispered. "I'm his ward, Abarai-sama."

"Didn't know he had one," Renji frowned.

"I… I'm not that important."

The redhead's lips thinned slightly, but he pressed on. "So, he said your name's Lucy?"

"That's correct, Abarai-sama."

"You can call me Renji," he chuckled. Anything to lighten the mood would be more than helpful right then. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'm not sure why Captain Kuchiki said I had to be here, either."

"..."

That didn't make Lucy feel better, and the last thing she planned on doing was calling the man she hardly knew anything about, something other than what was proper.

Byakuya stopped the group at a pair of wide, paneled doors, then turned to face Shunsui. In passing, he noticed that the blonde woman had lowered her head once again. "This is what you requested to see," he said to the other captain.

Shunsui smiled as Byakuya opened the doors - even though he could see the wariness gleaming in the calm captain's eyes every time he looked at Lucy - revealing a breathtaking garden that reached farther than the eye could see in just one sweep.

The most beautifully kept gardens in Soul Society.

"Gets me every time," Shunsui chuckled, turning toward Byakuya. "Can we…?"

Byakuya nodded as Shunsui looked out toward the gardens again in longing. "Refrain from harming anything," he said. "And leave my fish alone."

Renji snorted. "Yeah, Yachiru's been sneaking in and messing with the koi pond again."

Shunsui laughed and just barely caught the fond spark in Byakuya's narrow eyes as he looked down at Lucy again. His finger hooked under her chin and he lifted her head, then leaned down to whisper, "Surprise."

He just had to see her reaction to this.

"Take a look, Lucy-chan. This is why we came."

She didn't want to see what Shunsui had planned, but there was no way she could deny him. Her eyes lifted from the polished wooden planks running along the floor, widening a moment later when she saw what laid just beyond the doors.

Greens, reds, pinks of every shade assaulted her from the eden beyond. Flowers in full bloom, sakuras with their little buds just waiting to break free. Perfectly trimmed grass that looked softer than the few clouds in the bright sky above them. A well worn path, wide enough for three people to easily walk side by side, wound through the garden with short bridges arching over a stream that cut through it all.

Her breath caught on a gasp, and all she could smell were the flowers. The life in the air. This was more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen before, even the sad attempt at a garden in her own inner world.

The blue sky and gleaming sun made everything so much brighter. This was heaven, she was sure of it.

The men standing around Lucy all blinked in surprise when tears sprung to her eyes and started careening down her cheeks. Shunsui drew back, his brows drawing together as Lucy absently kicked off her geta and walked outside, down the steps and into the grass. Off the path.

A watery, wisping laugh left the blonde once she felt the grass beneath her feet, and she reached down to remove her socks so she could soak up the life teeming on its blades.

"Is she… alright?" Renji frowned.

Shunsui shook his head in bewilderment. "I-"

A sudden sob broke past Lucy's lips and she collapsed to her knees in front of a flowerbed. Shaking fingers brushed across the grass, then lightly touched the silken pale blue petals. She could feel the warmth radiating from each petal, the leaves and stems of every flower. A gentle breeze pulled a few strands of golden hair from the clip holding them down, and she only cried harder while watching them dancing so freely.

Byakuya slowly pulled his gaze from the woman wearing a deep purple kimono with a pale pink swirling pattern, turning toward Shunsui. "It is a rather odd request," he mused. "Why, exactly, did you want to come here?"

Shunsui's eyes softened as Lucy leaned forward to bring her nose to a cluster of flowers. "It's been so long since she's seen this," he whispered. "I figured she'd like your garden a whole lot more than mine."

Renji bit his lip in confusion, then found a small smile creeping its way onto his face when he saw Rukia walking out of her room a few doors down. "Ah, Captain. I've got a lieutenant's meeting."

Byakuya nodded, watching as the redhead fell into step beside Rukia while the two walked away. His gaze returned to the recently released prisoner, honing in on her trembling smile and how her slender shoulders quaked. "She acts strangely for a ward," he said carefully.

"Because, as far as she's concerned," Shunsui said, glancing at the captain beside him, "Even servants have a higher status than her."

"She should be made aware of her status in your clan," Byakuya said.

"Oh, Lucy-chan knows all that," Shunsui chuckled. "It's just…"

"She was a prisoner."

He nodded slowly and the two continued watching Lucy as she sat in the gardens. Eventually, they moved toward a gazebo a short distance away, where both men could keep an eye on her.

"It is surprising that your elders allowed something like this," Byakuya said softly while they sat down for a cup of tea.

"They knew it was happening one way or another," Shunsui shrugged. "I just had to agree to keep her in line."

"And how is that coming along?"

Shunsui's lips curled down thoughtfully. "Not well," he said. If there was anyone in the Soul Society who could understand something like this, he figured it was Byakuya. While the other captain was several centuries younger than himself and Jushiro, he was also intelligent. And he definitely understood the way the noble clans functioned.

No matter how much Shunsui liked to tease Byakuya about his willfulness as a child, he'd grown into a man capable of thinking things through. Of taking the path of least destruction.

"I keep messing up," he finally admitted. "Making her feel like she's just in another prison."

"It would be wise to keep her under that assumption," Byakuya said. "But that isn't exactly healthy for a person's mental state."

"No," he sighed. "It's tearing her apart inside. She's…" Shunsui shook his head and rubbed a hand over his face while taking another sip of his tea. "I can't keep doing that to her, making her feel that way. She's gotta see that things will be different now."

"Different from Muken," Byakuya said with a nod. "That should not be too difficult a feat to achieve."

"More than that," Shunsui replied. "I want her to… to feel like this is going to last. She still thinks it's all temporary, and..."

He paused when an attendant with short-cropped brown hair knelt at Byakuya's side and whispered something to him. Without a word, Shunsui followed his lead and stood, then walked out of the gazebo.

"Everything okay?"

Byakuya nodded, his hand coming to rest on the hilt of his zanpakutou while he cut across the gardens with long strides.

Shunsui followed Byakuya's line of sight, the intensity of his gaze, and his eyes rounded in horror when he saw Lucy sprawled on the ground in a heap. "Lucy-chan," he gasped, flash-stepping past the Kuchiki leader and coming to kneel at her side. His hand came to rest on her cheek, just below the makeup that had been smeared with her tears, and he found dark circles under her closed lids. Ones that were intensely familiar, reminiscent of long, sleepless nights strung together for too long.

She was still breathing, though. Almost snoring.

Shunsui's breath left him in a quiet, relieved laugh as he dropped his head to one hand. "Lucy-chan, you're gonna give me a heart attack…"

Byakuya's hand stayed in place on his sword while he looked at the woman. "She… fell asleep," he said.

How could someone like her be a criminal? The blonde looked so young then, relaxed. Her full lips were just barely parted, and even with the tears that had made her cheeks blotchy and red, she was the picture of innocence. How could a person who cried at the sight of flowers, be guilty of the crimes the captains had been told about? Byakuya remembered all too well the way Hisana had cried when she saw where she would be living after they'd married. How she'd been struck by the sheer beauty of the Kuchiki estate. The same way Lucy had cried. As though it was the only bright space in her life.

"I told you," Shunsui whispered while brushing her hair behind one ear. "I keep messing things up. Lucy-chan hasn't been sleeping, or eating, since a couple days ago. And it's my fault. I did this to her."

He pulled the pink, flowery kimono from around his shoulders and draped it over Lucy as a blanket, then gently lifted the blonde into his arms. A strong hand on his shoulder stopped the brunette from standing, and instead he found himself looking up into narrow grey eyes.

"If she is finally asleep," Byakuya whispered, "Then do not disturb her."

"Mm… Shunsui," Lucy mumbled. Her head turned to source of warmth, her nose brushing through several hairs on his chest. "Hold… me…"

Byakuya moved to kneel at Shunsui's side, watching curiously as his fellow captain drew her smaller body just a little closer.

"I've gotcha, Lucy-chan," he whispered. He shifted so Lucy was lying, curled up on his lap, and continued gently stroking her flushed cheeks.

Silence stretched on for several long minutes until Byakuya said, "I have been considering starting a calligraphy class. There will be a place for anyone interested in such, as long as it does not interfere with their duties to their own squads."

"That sounds like a blast," Shunsui smirked. "Have fun with that."

Byakuya looked up at the sky, fighting to hide a small smile. "On days when I can only think of the past, Captain Kyouraku, I find that calligraphy and gardening are the perfect remedies to put me at ease."

"You mean, thinking about her?" Shunsui asked sadly.

"Yes. Most often, after I visit Hisana's memorial, I find it… difficult… to-"

"I get it," Shunsui said gently. "But that's good. Having something to take your mind off of things." He watched as Byakuya's attention returned to the sleeping blonde.

"As I said, there will be space in my class for  _anyone_  who may be interested."

Shunsui chuckled and shook his head. "I gotcha," he said. "I'll ask her later on."

"Good."

If anything, it would give Byakuya a way to get to know the blonde woman who, he reminded himself, was also Jushiro's sister. If she was a criminal, then Lucy needed to be monitored, but it was also glaringly obvious that she needed to believe it wasn't the case. The woman in Shunsui's arms was barely holding on, from what he'd been told. And it was clear that there was something very wrong in how she'd been treated before. Maybe it was just a matter of her being imprisoned that caused Lucy to be acting this way.

Whatever the case, he was going to keep an eye on her. And if something out of the ordinary happened, then she would be contained. Byakuya would make sure of that.


	6. Deep Down

 

Lavender and lilac danced in the gentle breeze and Lucy let out a slow breath while nuzzling the warmth surrounding her.

"There's my girl…"

She smiled and felt familiar, slender fingers sifting through her hair. "Chino…"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad?" she asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

"I talked to that captain," he whispered. "The one who helped you."

Her smile faded and the blonde lifted her her to look into saddened onyx eyes. She hadn't thought too much about what Shunsui had said to her before, while she was holed up in her closet, but now... "My eyes were red," she realized. "You…"

"I did," he nodded. He let out a slow breath while looking out across her inner world. The rain had stopped, and a few bushes and trees had come back to life just a little bit. Still, he cringed while hearing the distinct rumble of thunder in the distance. It was obvious that she wasn't happy about it, but Lucy had already figured out what he'd done. Sort of.

"Chino…"

"I know," he said. "You don't want me interfering, and it's not safe for anyone to find out that you still have me. But you need help, Lucy."

The blonde shook her head and curled further into his arms. "No one can help me."

"He could. If you let him, then-" The zanpakutou spirit froze as a brilliant shaft of purple light streamed down from the sky. The ground shuddered and he held Lucy closer while throwing a hand out to stabilize them. "L-Lucy?"

"What's happening?" she whimpered.

The light shimmered and finally dimmed until the two were left staring at a large lump on the ground. Covered in a pale grey swathe of fabric with splashes of sky blue. It shifted restlessly for several moments then went still.

Lucy's brows furrowed and she pulled Chinogishiki's arms from around her while moving closer to the odd form before them. He tried to pull her back, but she simply swatted his hands away, and came to kneel next to the piled fabric. "What is this?"

"Lucy, don't  _touch_  it," Chinogishiki said shakily. He rushed to her side and tried to pull his master back, only for his hands to freeze just before touching her. Just when the pile shifted again and revealed an older man with long brown hair and a stubbled chin. "Who-"

"Shunsui-sama," Lucy hissed. She surprised both herself and the zanpakutou spirit when she smacked the Squad 8 captain across the face as hard as she could. Shunsui's eyes shot open and he bolted upright. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Huh? Lucy-chan… What…" He squawked when the blonde hit him again, putting his arms up to cover his head from the sudden assault. "Lucy-chan!"

"Lucy, stop," Chinogishiki sighed.

"No way! He has no right to be here!" The blonde screamed when Chinogishiki's arms wound around her, pinning her arms to her sides while he shuffled them both away from the captain.

Shunsui's arms slowly lowered and he gazed at the struggling blonde, more than ready to see her eyes had turned red once again. But they were still just the same honey-brown as usual. Angry, sure, but still brown. The kimono she'd been wearing at the Kuchiki estate was gone, and in its place was a simple blue yukata. Her feet were bare, digging into the dry earth and dead grass beneath her.

And then he saw the pale young man holding her back. With those same bright, crimson eyes he remembered partially shadowed beneath his raven hair.

"You…"

Chinogishiki looked up at the shinigami captain and nodded. "Me. It's a pleasure to meet you... I think."

Shunsui chuckled and leaned back on his hands. "Possibly. Where, exactly, am I?"

"Lucy's-"

"My nothing!" she screeched. "Get out of here! You're not welcome here!"

"Lucy-chan, that's not very nice."

"I don't have to be nice to you," she spat. "Not here. I'm might be your ward, but I'm safe from…" In a flash her jaw snapped shut and she glared at the ground. No. She wasn't telling him anything. He didn't deserve to know what was happening or where he was.

"Safe from what?" Shunsui asked with a gentle frown. "Lucy-chan, I just want you to talk to me."

"From being a prisoner," Chinogishiki sighed. He didn't care that she glared at him. Or that she punched him in the stomach and scrambled to her feet. He was sure, in her mind, he deserved a good wallop. Lucy was secretive about a lot of things, but she couldn't keep them from him. And for this shinigami to have any real chance of helping her, he needed to know just what he was up against.

"If you want to talk about me like I'm not here, like I don't have a say in who knows things about me, then I'll just go somewhere else. That's what everyone does anyway, right?"

"Lucy, it's not like - and she's gone…" Chinogishiki groaned and rubbed a hand over his face, looking at the spot the blonde had just flash stepped away from. Where she was going, he really hadn't a clue. And the blonde would be finding out that not a whole lot had survived the havoc that had been wrought on her inner world recently. Things were just barely starting to get back to normal, but there was a long way to go.

"Uh… I've clearly missed something here," Shunsui said. "Shouldn't we go after her?"

"You don't even know who I am, but you're suggesting I follow Lucy while she's having a damn tantrum?" The spirit rolled his eyes. "No wonder you keep upsetting her even more. You're absolutely clueless."

"I'm trying, okay?" Shunsui frowned.

"Not hard enough," Chinogishiki spat. His eyes glowed a murderous red for a moment, then faded to a gentle black. "My name is Chinogishiki. I'm… I'm Lucy's zanpakutou."

"But I thought she didn't have one anymore," Shunsui whispered. "Jushiro told me they never found…"

"They never found my blade because it broke apart," Chinogishiki said. "Part of my blade is stuck in Lucy's heart. She still has use of my powers, but… That's not what I want to talk to you about."

"She's not  _supposed_  to have a zanpakutou though," Shunsui said. "This is a big deal. Lucy-chan was released from prison with everyone involved knowing that she didn't have access to a weapon. She's more dangerous like this."

The Squad 8 captain felt an uncontrollable shudder run through him when Chinogishiki's eyes turned red again.

"The dangerous one here, is me," he hissed. "Lucy's never been a danger to anyone. Only  _me_."

"That's my point."

"She keeps me back. She keeps me calm. It's only when people try to take advantage of her, when they hurt her with no care for the damage they cause, that they need to worry about what I'll do."

"And what would you do?" Shunsui asked.

"The better question is… what  _wouldn't_  I do?" Chinogishiki paused and looked out across the tattered land that had once been a beautiful garden. "That's not important, shinigami. Not nearly as important as what's happening to her."

"So, if you're Lucy-chan's zanpakutou, then this is…" Shunsui cast his gaze out to the land around them. To the dry, crackling ground with odd puddles of clear water here and there. Dead grass and trees and shrubs. The air was muggy, nearly too thick to breathe. It was stifling. Grey clouds swirled in the sky and hovered too close to the ground. "Her inner world."

"It used to be beautiful," Chinogishiki sighed. "We spent three whole centuries just sitting in the trees and spending time together. Planting things. It was so soothing."

"What happened here?" Shunsui whispered. He had a horrible feeling though. Whatever had happened, it had to have been his fault somehow.

"She tried to kill herself," Chinogishiki said. "After healing her brother, Lucy just… She felt like that was it. Everything finally caught up to her. All the pain she'd been through before. Everything."

Shunsui carefully stood and watched as the zanpakutou spirit did the same. "I did this to her," he said. "I got her out of prison…"

"Oh, stop blaming yourself already."

Chinogishiki and Shunsui jolted and turned to look behind them at the sudden feminine voice. "No," Shunsui whispered. "No, no, no…"

"What, you're not happy to see me?"

"Who…" Chinogishiki's eyes widened as he took in the sight of a beautiful, busty woman with gleaming lavender hair pulled into high corkscrew pigtails. An ornate black kimono with a golden skull imprinted on it, the neckline opened and plunging dangerously low to reveal her ample cleavage. A morbid bone headdress. One piercing turquoise eye, with the other covered by a large eyepatch. "Who is she?"

"Oh," Shunsui chuckled nervously. "Just the beautiful flower I'm honored to call my zanpakutou."

"Ass-kisser," Katen sneered.

"You're so mean to me…"

Chinogishiki grinned and brushed past the shinigami captain to take Katen's hand in his. "A beautifully deadly flower, I'm sure," he purred. "What's your name?"

Shunsui blanched when he saw the gentle flush to her cheeks.

"Katen Kyokotsu," she whispered. "Just call me Katen…"

"Shinigami, go and find my master. And don't be an idiot this time."

"Wait, where's Kyokotsu?" Shunsui frowned.

"You know where she is," Katen snorted. "Sneaking around as always." She turned her attention to Chinogisihiki then. "Tell me, little one… Do you like to play games?"

"Any game you want," Chinogishiki chuckled.

"I'm not sticking around for this," Shunsui muttered to himself. Instead, he turned and darted down the worn path in the direction Lucy had gone. With each step he took away from the two spirits, he found more and more reasons to feel ashamed of how he'd been treating Lucy. And here he'd thought that he was actually helping her.

' _I've been so stupid.'_  Shunsui wasn't helping anyone, especially not Lucy.

He jumped over a puddle and saw, just in the distance, the huddled, shaking form of the blonde whose world he'd intruded upon. In more ways than one.

His steps slowed as he drew closer, and Shunsui paused once he was standing several feet behind her. But his tongue had swelled up and his throat went dry. What could he even say to her? An apology for messing things up so horribly seemed like the best place to start, but he just couldn't get the words out.

"I guess Chino told you everything," Lucy sniffled.

"Nothing I didn't already know," he said, clearing his throat. "Aside from him being your zanpakutou, that is."

"Will you take me back to prison now, then?"

"No."

Lucy lifted her head, her teary eyes wide and disbelieving as she stared at the desolate landscape just in front of her. "Wh-What?"

He let out a quiet sigh and took the last few steps toward her, then knelt behind the crying blonde. "I said no," he whispered. "You're not going back to prison."

Before Lucy could turn, she was brought into a tender hug. She struggled to pull away, but stilled as his fingers swept through her loose hair. Just against her scalp. His lips brushed against her ear just as her back hit his chest. "Let me g-"

"I'm sorry, Lucy-chan," Shunsui said. "I'm sorry that I keep hurting you. I don't mean to."

"..."

"I've been trying to help you," he continued. "When your brother told me what your family did to you, I knew that I was going to keep you safe. And I want you to feel like this isn't just temporary. It's the real thing, and you're not going to miss out on life anymore."

"I already have," she sniffled. "You just don't get it."

"Then help me understand, Lucy-chan. Tell me what I can do."

"Did… Did Onii-chan tell you what they…"

"He said they kept you locked up and forced you to heal people," he nodded.

"While Onii-chan was in the Academy," she said softly. "As soon as he left, they came for me."

He curled around her just a little more once Lucy's fingers laced with his on one hand. Shunsui felt her shift and his gaze followed her other hand as she pointed to the blank space in front of them. To the side of a wall that hadn't been there before.

The wall shimmered in the air, wavering slightly as a large oval dissipated to reveal the small, cramped room beyond with no light and a thin, worn futon on the floor. Slowly, the form of a young girl appeared on the mat, with matted blonde hair and cold brown eyes.

#

" _Nagata-sama," Lucy whimpered as the small lamp in the corner was lit. "Is Onii-chan back yet?" She curled further into the corner when an older woman hobbled into the room. "N-Nagata-sama?"_

_Her older cousin in the Shiba clan, a man with wide green eyes, a strong jaw, and deep brown hair, glared down at her. "Ima-san has hurt her ankle, Lucy. She needs your help."_

" _I-I can't… Onii-chan told me-" She cried out as his hand crashed across her cheek._

" _Insolent brat! Your brother is an idiot. Hoarding your powers for himself."_

" _You don't understand, I…" Lucy's thin body fell to the floor when she was struck again._

" _Come, Ima-san," Nagata whispered. He led the older woman further into the room and sat her down on the floor next to the crying blonde. "Just hold her hands, and let Lucy do the rest."_

" _Such a sweet girl," Ima smiled. "Doing something like this for an old woman."_

_Lucy screamed as Ima's wrinkled fingers gripped her wrists hard enough to bruise. Power swelled around her, pulling a sickly green reiatsu from the older woman into her. Ima shifted and Lucy caught a quick flash of the injury to the woman's ankle. A large bite festering with pus. It wasn't something fresh. She'd never healed anything like this before._

" _St-Stop!" Lucy screeched. "Nagata… M-Make her stop! It hurts!"_

_She watched in horror as the bite appeared on her own ankle, but Ima didn't let go even after her physical injury was gone._

" _Can the girl heal illness?" Ima asked._

_Nagata smiled and nodded. "Any illness," he said. "Your son told me you've been sick recently. Just keep holding on. Lucy here will get it all out, and you'll feel better than ever before."_

_Lucy kicked at the older woman and nearly broke free. She sobbed as Nagata forced her to the ground again, his forearm digging into the back of her neck and slamming her cheek into the wooden planks beneath her._

" _She'll heal you faster if you touch more of her skin," Nagata said. "Go on, Ima-san."_

_The older woman ripped Lucy's yukata down from her shoulders and set her hands on the girl's back, then her arms. Then one cheek just between her shoulder blades._

_Lucy's power skyrocketed, and her lips opened on another scream that echoed through the empty halls._

_She couldn't move by the time Nagata and Ima left. Her eyes were as heavy as the illness running through her, clogging her lungs with phlegm. Just before the door closed, Nagata's gleaming eyes caught in the meager light of the lamp as he looked down at her._

" _You're doing a great service to the clan, Lucy." He put out the light and closed the door, leaving her to sob in the darkness._

_#_

Shunsui took a shaky breath as the image in the wall faded, leaving a blank slab of concrete behind. "Lucy-chan…"

Her grip on his hand tightened and the blonde shuffled closer until Shunsui spread his legs so she was curled up between them. "Onii-chan was the only one who cared about me."

It was like a punch to the gut when the wall before them broke apart to reveal a new room, smaller than the last, bathed in darkness.

_#_

_Lucy stayed curled up on the floor, unable to move without feeling her body ache and the open wounds across her flesh twist uncomfortably. She lifted her fingers from the floor and watched as small droplets of blood dripped from them onto the floor._

_The only sound aside from her breathing in the cramped space._

_The door slid to the side and her gaze fell on her older brother, Kobito, highlighted by the small lamp he carried._

" _Lucy, come with me." He struggled to pull her nearly unresponsive form out of the closet, but eventually he carried her down the hall and out into the garden._

_Stars twinkled in the sleepy night sky above them._

" _Th-Thank you, Kobito," she sniffed._

" _This is her?"_

_Lucy's eyes widened at the soft voice at the edge of the garden wall, and her head turned to find a slender woman with pale grey eyes and stark white hair walking into view._

" _My sister," Kobito nodded. "Tell them to come into the garden. She'll help them all."_

" _K-Kobito," Lucy whimpered. She trembled at the sight of a group stumbling into the clearing. Scores of injuries littered their bodies. Men, women, children. "Please, Kobito. D-Don't do this…"_

" _Place your hands on her one at a time," Kobito said as they drew nearer. "She'll heal you." He smiled down at the blonde while she bit her lips to keep her sobs at bay. "You can help so many people, Lucy. It shouldn't only be saved for the clan. The ones from the Rukongai need you."_

_A woman at the edge of the crowd gasped at the sight of fresh wounds streaking across Lucy's arms. "This is hurting her!"_

" _She'll heal it all," Kobito said gently. "Don't be afraid."_

_Lucy watched the woman hesitate. "P-Please… St-Stop this…"_

_She cried out as two men struggled to get closer to her, and both laid their hands on her legs. Fresh waves of agony ripped through her body._

_The woman took a step back._

_Just before Lucy lost consciousness, she saw that same woman moving forward, felt her hands digging desperately into her arms._

" _I'm sorry," the woman whispered._

_#_

"They all used me," Lucy said. "My own flesh and blood…"

"It's disgusting," Shunsui said. "What they did to you was wrong."

"But it's why I know I'm safe when it's dark. The closet was dark. Muken. The only time they hurt me was when I was taken out."

Shunsui shook his head as the wall shifted again. Instead of being in a dark room, it was the long walkway leading to Jushiro's family home.

#

_Lucy opened her eyes, squinting against the bright light streaming into the carriage. She gazed out the window and her blood ran cold when she saw her eldest brother walking down the path._

" _We need to get her out of here," Kobito hissed. "Jushiro's back."_

" _Grab her and let's go," came the voice of the driver._

_Lucy fought against the pain wracking her body and kicked her brother while fighting with the latch on the carriage. It started to move just as she got the door open, and she screamed into the hand that clamped over her mouth._

_Fresh blood washed over her tongue as she bit down on Kobito's hand, and Lucy tumbled from the carriage. Her body landed on the ground with a soft thump, but she didn't let it stop her._

" _Onii..." she rasped. "H-Help…"_

_Jushiro continued walking to the entry of the house, unaware of Lucy's presence._

" _Get her quick," the driver hissed, pulling the carriage to a stop. "Kobito, you moron."_

" _Lucy, listen to your big brother," Kobito groaned while clambering from the carriage. "Come with us, okay?"_

" _N-No," she whimpered. She pushed herself up from the ground and stumbled forward. Kobito wrapped an arm around her waist and started dragging her backwards, his other hand covering her mouth again. She kicked off from the nearby wall and he lost his balance, and the pair fell to the ground with Kobito lying on top of her. "Onii-chan," she rasped._

" _He can't hear you," Kobito chuckled. "Jushiro won't help you, Lucy. Besides you-"_

" _ONII-CHAN!"_

_Jushiro turned toward the sound of Lucy's voice, his eyes narrowing as the shuffling forms in the shade of the trees of to the side of the house. "Lucy?"_

" _Onii-chan, help! Help me!"_

_In a blazing flash step, Jushiro soared across the yard with his sword drawn and a deep scowl on his face. He found the blonde lying beneath their brother with tears in her eyes and dirt smudged over her cheeks._

" _Let her go, Kobito."_

" _You can't just keep her power for yourself, Jushiro," he spat._

" _For myself? What are you talking about?"_

" _Lucy always heals you!"_

" _I never asked her to," Jushiro frowned. "What…" He froze as Kobito rolled off of Lucy, his eyes widening at the sight of his youngest sister in a tattered yukata, with dozens of deep slashes across her flesh that cut across scars she hadn't had when he'd left for the Academy five years before. "What have you done to her?"_

" _O-Onii-chan," Lucy sobbed. "D-Don't let them take me b-back… Please…"_

_Jushiro pointed his sword at Kobito, a brilliant fire burning in his eyes. "What did you do to our sister?!"_

" _She's been helping people," Kobito said. "Jushiro, she has a gift. She should share it. Save lives with it."_

" _At what cost, Kobito?" Jushiro roared. "Look at what you've done!"_

_Lucy crawled across the ground and finally collapsed at Jushiro's feet. She let out a hiccupping sob when he bent and carefully helped her to stand. "P-Please… Don't let them lock me up again. I don't want t-to heal anyone…"_

" _Get out of my sight, Kobito," Jushiro said. "Don't come back here. And don't you dare come near Lucy again."_

_Once Kobito and the driver had left, Lucy's legs gave out and she fell helplessly into her eldest brother's arms._

" _It's alright now, Lucy," he whispered. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again…"_

" _Onii-chan," she sniffled. "I-I'm so h-happy you're home."_

_He lifted the blonde after sheathing his sword, then carried her inside to the bathroom. Lucy's eyes stayed closed as he bathed her, opening only for a moment to find tears dotting his lashes. "Don't cry, Onii-chan."_

" _Why didn't you come get me?" he whispered. "I would have put a stop to this."_

" _I couldn't…"_

" _What?"_

_Lucy quietly told him the story of what had happened as soon as he left for the Shinigami Academy. After telling him of only her first month without him, Jushiro pulled her from the bath and crushed the tired, wounded blonde to his chest._

_Lucy's tears didn't stop as Jushiro pulled his shihakusho open to bare his pale chest. He laid her on the floor of the bathroom and curled around her, letting his own reiatsu soak into her battered body to help her heal._

_#_

"I never wanted to see Jushiro like that again," Shunsui sniffled. He felt Lucy's questioning gaze on his cheek as she turned her head to look up at him. "While we were still in the Academy, I tried to… to kill myself."

"You did?"

He nodded slowly, staring at the wall as it faded from existence, revealing a barren wasteland beyond. "He found me in the bath. Jushiro saved me…" Shunsui's grip on the blonde tightened for only a moment before he allowed her to turn and fully face him. He pulled back just a little while brushing his fingers through the hair on his chest. "Right here. I tried to…"

Lucy frowned while looking at the webbed scar she'd never seen before. "To cut your heart out?" Her fingers lightly brushed across the raised flesh while she looked up into Shunsui's eyes. "You… really get it. Don't you?"

"I do," he said. "Why you wanted to end it. I understand, Lucy-chan. What I don't know is how I can help you."

"I never asked for your help, Shunsui-sama."

"Just Shunsui," he chuckled while lifting her chin. "Saying my name that way makes me feel old."

"You  _are_  old," Lucy smirked.

"You're so mean to me," he laughed.

"You can take it," she whispered.

"Sure," he sighed with a gentle, easy smile. "But all I've seen so far in these memories of yours is you being locked up and hurt. Isn't there anything else?"

"I could show you Muken," she said. "But you saw that for yourself. Three centuries of the same thing."

"What about the Academy?" he asked.

"Do you want to see how bad I was at kido at first? Because I had no eyebrows. It was horrible."

"I think I  _would_  like to see that," he chuckled. Shunsui let out a louder laugh when Lucy jabbed his side with her finger. "What about… things you liked doing? Vacations or something?"

"I-I never…" Lucy's eyes shifted to the ground in shame once she saw the surprise on Shunsui's face. "My parents didn't want anyone to find out about it, so th-they kept me at home. And after they died…"

"Jushiro came to the Academy," Shunsui whispered. "After your parents died, he decided to become a shinigami to take care of the family."

When Lucy nodded, he felt as though someone had laid a mountain on his chest. She'd only had her eldest brother to look out for her, to protect her from the ones who only wanted to use what she was capable of for everyone else without a care in the world over how Lucy was affected by it. She'd been sheltered, confined, her entire life.

And he'd been just another person to lock her up when all Lucy wanted was freedom. The one time she'd "broken out" was to go and see the only friend she really had. The fact that it was the Captain-Commander wasn't lost on him, and while he thought it was odd, Shunsui couldn't fault her for wanting to be near the old man.

Genryuusai was just as much a father to Shunsui as he probably was to Lucy.

But, the Squad 8 captain resolved, then and there, to change how things had been going for her. He wasn't going to keep her locked up any longer. And he was definitely going to make sure Lucy got a real chance at living.

He already knew she couldn't become a shinigami now, not with her having been locked in Muken. But he would find something. Anything.

"I'm so sorry, Lucy-chan."

Neither Lucy nor Shunsui noticed the two zanpakutou spirits standing a few feet behind them. Watching as Shunsui cradled Lucy in his arms, and her slender, scarred arms wrapped around him in return.

"He's a complete moron," Katen sighed.

"You could say the same for Lucy," Chinogishiki nodded. "But, she's letting him hold her."

"Your master isn't one for hugging, huh?"

"Not really," he said. "Usually people touching Lucy are just trying to use her."

"Shunsui's not like that," Katen said. "He's got one hell of a guilty streak though, so I already know I'll be hearing him beat himself up over this for a few years, at least."

"Maybe you can help him out, then," Chinogishiki said. "Stop him from making Lucy feel bad or something."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because if you do, then we'll play that shadow game you were telling me about."

Katen's eyes flashed with excitement as she gazed down at the pale spirit next to her. "Well, when you put it that way…  _Kageoni_ ," she giggled, disappearing into his shadow on the ground.

* * *

Lucy opened her eyes to find her face buried in the hairs on Shunsui's chest, right under the webbed scar she'd seen in her inner world. With a single breath, she pulled in the scents of lilac and lavender, and somehow it still suited him. Her gaze shifted higher until she could see the line of his jaw. Higher still to find his long lashes resting gently on his cheeks. She wasn't sure how long she watched him sleep, but eventually he quietly snorted and his eyes fluttered open.

As soon as he looked down at her, Lucy gave the shinigami captain a quiet, timid smile. "We really should stop waking up like this," she whispered.

The blonde squeaked in surprise when Shunsui crushed her to his chest.

"Lucy-chan, I'm so sorry… I didn't know."

She sighed and let him hold her. "It's okay now, Shunsui-sama."

"It really isn't. I did the same thing to you as everyone else. I locked you up."

"You never hurt me," she said softly.

"You nearly died, Lucy-chan."

"I did that to myself."

"You never asked to be taken out of Muken to heal someone again. It was selfish of me to think-"

"Shunsui-sama, it's fine," she sighed.

"It's not-"

"It is, so-"

"It really isn't-"

Lucy frowned and lifted a hand that was pinned between the two of them, then promptly flicked Shunsui in the nose to shut him up. "Are you listening now?"

He nodded in silence while staring down at her with widened eyes.

"You might have gotten me out of prison when I didn't ask to be, and even though I was safe there, you made me realize something."

"What's - Ow!"

Lucy held her fingers perched to flick him a third time. "I've never had the chance to live," she whispered. "And I want to do that. I want to experience everything the world has to offer, and I can't do that if I'm always hiding."

Shunsui nodded again. When Lucy's hand lowered, his lips parted to finally speak. "That's - OW!"

Lucy giggled and dropped her head to his chest. "I'm s-sorry, I couldn't help it… I won't do it again…"

"That's…" He waited for her to flick him again, and when Lucy made no move to do it, he let out a relieved sigh. "That's good to hear," he finally whispered. "But if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. Okay?"

Lucy nodded against his chest. "Thank you, Shunsui-sama." She didn't really know what to do, though. Now that they were awake, Lucy was at a loss for how to handle herself around him. She'd never meant to show anyone those details of her past, but something about Shunsui's arms around her in her inner world had made her open up to him.

Then again, she definitely wanted to know just how he'd gotten into her inner world in the first place.

"Shunsui-sama?"

"Hm?"

"How did you, um… get there? You know…"

"I'm not really sure," he shrugged, closing his eyes again. "You fell asleep at Byakuya-san's estate, and he wouldn't let me move you until the sun went down."

"I'm sorry," she winced. "You did all that for me to see his gardens, and I fell asleep."

"It's okay," he chuckled. "Byakuya-san's gardens will still be there tomorrow. And you haven't been sleeping all that much, from what I've heard, so I think it was for the best for you to catch up on that."

"But-"

Shunsui shook his head and gave the blonde a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "I brought you home, Lucy-chan. I figured you'd rather wake up somewhere familiar."

"We're in your bed again, aren't we…"

"We are," he smirked.

"... Pervert."

Still, he could hear the small smile in her voice. There was definitely something different about the blonde, but he just couldn't figure out how she could have changed in the short time that had passed since he'd met with her to go to the Kuchiki estate. She hadn't smiled since leaving the Captain-Commander's office days before. She hadn't laughed since then, either. But in just a few short minutes after waking, Lucy had done both. She'd teased him and just enjoyed herself as though she wasn't rotting from the inside out any longer.

Had he really been able to help her this much, just from sitting and listening to her? From holding her and giving an apology that she should have gotten from the beginning?

"Lucy-chan," he whispered.

"Hm?"

"You tell me what you want to do today. Anything at all, and I'll make it happen."

Lucy's cheeks flushed slightly. "I-I don't know… Seeing Kuchiki-sama's garden was nice."

"Would you want to do that again?"

"I, um… I don't know."

"How about something else, then?"

She peeked up at him from under her lashes. "Like what?"

He grinned down at the bashful look she gave him. "So precious," he muttered. "How about… a picnic? You need to eat something."

"O-Okay."

"Or something else?"

Lucy bit her lips and finally shook her head. A picnic sounded like fun. It was actually something she'd done before, sort of. Chinogishiki had taken her on plenty of picnics in the past three centuries.

"Any ideas at all," he chuckled. "We'll do everything."

"At the same time?" she laughed.

"Well, no. That would be utter insanity. But, we've got a lot of time and tons to do. You just choose where we start."

"A picnic," Lucy finally whispered. "Chino takes me on picnics all the time, but it's not the same."

"Have you ever been on a picnic otherwise?" he asked. Lucy shook her head and he had to force his smile to stay in place. He couldn't let her see how saddened he was by something like this. Something so small that people usually took for granted.

"Then let's do that," Shunsui smiled. "A nice, long picnic. Maybe even some sake."

"You'd… let me drink sake?"

"Sure," he chuckled. "We'll knock out tons of firsts for you."

The blonde shuffled a little and pulled the blanket higher over her shoulders. "More sleep first?"

"Tired, huh?" he asked. When Lucy nodded, he tucked the blanket around her and pulled the blonde more firmly against him. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep in your room?"

"It's not safe unless-"

"No more closets, Lucy-chan."

"Then, no. I-I don't want to sleep in my room." She cringed and closed her eyes as his fingers brushed through her hair. "I probably sound stupid…"

"I don't think it's stupid," he said. "If this will help you feel better, then fine. Besides, it's not like I really have a problem with a beautiful woman sleeping in my arms."

Lucy's cheeks flamed and she shook her head. The only one who called her beautiful was her zanpakutou spirit. Chinogishiki always said she was beautiful, no matter what anyone else thought, and no matter how many scars she had. But Shunsui had as though it wasn't a complete lie. "I'm not beautiful," she whispered.

"Who told you something so stupid?"

"No one had to. I've seen myself in the mirror."

Shunsui curled around the blonde a little more, letting his fingers brush over the hidden scars running down her back. "I don't think I've met anyone as beautiful as you, Lucy-chan," he whispered. "Not just outside, but inside too."

He couldn't help but chuckle quietly when she shrunk in on herself and shook her head. The blonde was absolutely adorable at times.

"I bet you say that to all the pretty girls," she muttered.

"Hmm, nope. Just the  _extra_  pretty ones named Lu…" He paused and wriggled his fingers gently along her side, pulling a small laugh from the blonde. "... cy…" He moved higher and did it again. "... chan."

"Shunsui- _sama_  is a pervert," Lucy giggled.

"Sort of." The blonde let out a long sigh as his hands ran in gentle circles over her back. "Let's get some more sleep, Lucy-chan. You'll be safe here."

Lucy nodded and unconsciously brushed her nose over the scar on Shunsui's chest. "I promise to be here when you wake up in the morning," she whispered.

"At least leave a note if you're going to visit with Yama-jii."

"I'm sorry I made you worry," she yawned.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack. And again today when we found you sleeping in the grass."

"You're just getting old," she giggled.

"Well, that's just mean," he chuckled.

The blonde looked up and gave him a tired smile. "It's okay. My only friend is Yama-jii. I like old."

Shunsui shook his head with a wider smile than before. "You're an odd one, Lucy-chan." Her cheeks puffed up only slightly, but he simply laughed and closed his eyes. "It's okay. I like odd."


	7. Picnic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long (overdue) Author's Note...
> 
> I've put a lot of thought into whether to keep this as a crossover, or just write Lucy as an OC. As it stands, this is not a crossover. It just has Lucy's face on an OC, and a combination of Zeref and Loke on another OC. Honestly, I probably should make this into just a Bleach fic with OC's, and my Fairy Tail readers can just know who the inspiration is for the characters. But… Then I talked to LittlePrincessNana, and she helped me figure out what I could do to keep this as a crossover.
> 
> As the story progresses, you'll see sprinklings of the Fairy Tail characters. They might be important to the story, they might not. We won't know until they show up.
> 
> Also, for any future stories featuring this particular version of Lucy (there are a couple on my profile in the Planned section), those will not be crossovers. They'll be Bleach fics with an OC, but just know that it's the same character as the one in this story. Maybe that's confusing. I dunno. It'll be a while before those get written anyway, so I'll make the announcement in those stories as well when the time comes.
> 
> So, for now, this is staying as a crossover for Fairy Tail and Bleach. If the "introducing Fairy Tail characters to the story" thing doesn't work out (because I literally have no outline for this aside from the climax of the story), then I'll change it to a Bleach fic with Lucy being an OC. We'll see.

"I'm very sorry, Lucy-sama. He was called away and asked that I keep you company until he can return," Ishiko said, kneeling beside the blonde at the dining table. "But it's good to see you eating again."

"Thank you, Ishiko," Lucy whispered, her gaze trained on her meal. "I understand. Shunsui-sama can't just put everything on hold because of me. He's a captain, and that means he has responsibilities that come before something like this."

"He didn't tell me what you were going to be doing today," Ishiko said, frowning at the small sips Lucy took of her soup.

"Shunsui-sama was going to take me on a picnic."

"That sounds like fun."

Lucy nodded, nibbling her lip before setting her spoon down. She turned toward the raven-haired attendant, looking up into her dark eyes. "I've never been on a picnic before," she whispered. "Not really…"

"You…" Ishiko's eyes went wide as Lucy shrunk in on herself slightly. "Why?"

"I wasn't allowed," Lucy said. "But do you think we could, um… do something?"

"Definitely," Ishiko grinned. She paused, clearing her throat and controlling her tone. "I mean, of course, Lucy-sama."

"Please just call me Lucy," the blonde smiled. She slowly stood with the attendant, then started walking toward the door leading from the dining room and back into the manor. "Would it be okay if you showed me around?"

"Of course," Ishiko nodded. "You'll be living here, so you should know how to get around."

"After the tour, there's something else I want to do… if that's okay?"

"What would that be?" Ishiko asked, sliding a door open and leading Lucy down a long hall to the gardens. Shunsui had asked her to take Lucy into the gardens for some fresh air before he'd left. And even though Ishiko didn't fully understand why he'd had that look in his eyes, why he seemed so guilty, she'd nodded and promised she would.

Lucy smiled, watching the tips of her tabi-covered toes peek out from beneath her soft blue yukata. "Well, if Shunsui-sama makes it back in time for a picnic… Maybe we could make him something special? Something he likes."

"Shunsui-sama loves nikuman," Ishiko said instantly. She couldn't remember how many times she'd caught the clan leader sneaking those little steamed buns out of the kitchen when he was younger. "He usually enjoys them with his sake, and says they go very well together."

Lucy placed her hand on Ishiko's just before she opened the doors to lead them out into the garden. "It takes a while to make those, right?" she frowned. At Ishiko's nod, she bit her lip and looked back the way they'd come. "I've never made them before."

"I'm sure we could have Natami whip some up for you," Ishiko smiled. "Let's go ask-"

"No, I… I want to learn," Lucy whispered. "Would you help me? He's done so much for me, I just… want to say thank you."

Her attendant's eyes softened while she gently grasped Lucy's shoulders. "It's very sweet of you to do this for Shunsui-sama," she whispered back. "Let's go to the kitchen and talk with Natami. And we'll make the best picnic you can imagine."

And for the first time in far too long, as far as Ishiko was concerned, Lucy smiled so widely that her eyes crinkled. She lunged for Ishiko, her arms winding about the taller woman's waist while she whispered her thanks over and over again. Lucy pulled back, giggling while grasping the stunned woman's hands and dragging her down the hall.

"This will be so much fun!"

"Lucy-"

"Ishiko, I've always wanted to try cooking something, and-"

"Lucy, wait-"

"- I just hope he likes them, and that they don't taste too-"

"Lucy!" Ishiko laughed while pulling the blonde to a sudden halt. "The kitchen is this way," she said, nodding her head down a hall off to their right. Lucy blushed and ducked her head, sending her a quick apology. "Now, Natami's not always in the best of moods, especially if you bother her while she's cooking something. But, she shouldn't be too busy right now, so just follow my lead, okay?"

"You got it," Lucy nodded. She stayed by Ishiko's side as they walked toward the kitchen, fully embracing the nervous flutter in her belly at the thought of being able to thank Shunsui for being so sweet to her the night before when she really hadn't done a thing to deserve his kindness. But Lucy was going to change that. She wanted to show him that she was more than just some whiny brat who couldn't appreciate the second chance she'd gained at life.

He'd been trying to reach out to her, and Lucy had just been so wrapped up in herself, so afraid that she would only be hurt again, she hadn't realized what he really wanted. But he understood her better now. They understood each other better.

She'd never thought something like this would happen, that there would be someone who could truly know the pain of wanting to end it all.

"Natami-san," Ishiko called out, carefully sliding the door to the kitchen open.

"What do you want?" The cook frowned, her back turned to the women as they took a slow step into the kitchen. Her wide hips swayed while she kneaded the dough on the table. "What, does she not like the soup either? She wastes food so much, I have half a mind to stop cooking for her altogether. See if  _that_  changes her tune."

"I'm sorry," Lucy said softly, her eyes downcast and not seeing the cook turn quickly to stare at her.

"L-Lucy-sama," Natami whispered in horror, bowing low at the waist. "M-My apologies, Lucy-sama! I didn't know you were there!"

Lucy fidgeted with the sleeves of her yukata, unable to think of a thing to say. "Ishiko, this was stupid," she finally whispered, taking a step back. "Let's just go-" She froze when her attendant's arm snaked around her and pulled her back into the kitchen.

"It's not stupid, Lucy," Ishiko gently chided her. "Natami-san didn't mean anything by it… Did you, Natami-san?"

"N-No," the cook sputtered, standing from her bow. "Nothing at all, Lucy-sama."

"Well, Lucy and I were coming down here to ask if we could borrow a section of the kitchen," Ishiko said, slowly guiding Lucy forward until they were standing just in front of Natami. "She wanted to learn how to make nikuman for Shunsui-sama."

"I-I can make those for you," Natami said, glancing at Ishiko in distress before looking back down at the blonde. "It took a long time to figure out the right recipe. He has very specific tastes, and it has to blend well with his sake."

Lucy bit her lip, then finally looked up into Natami's worried blue eyes, barely crinkled in the corners with age. It was one of the things she didn't like about noble houses, and part of the reason she'd loved that her own family hadn't been one of the great clans; servants who were scared of upsetting the nobles made her uncomfortable. Natami was a person, just like Lucy. Like Ishiko and Iwao and even Shunsui, himself. She didn't care if she was the ward of a clan leader; she was just like everyone else.

Natami's gaze softened slightly when she saw Lucy's wide, expressive eyes looking up at her so meekly. It reminded her of her own children running around and the look in their eyes when they'd been scolded for tipping over a bag of flour onto the floor.

"I don't want to be a bother," Lucy said. "I just wanted to learn how to cook something for Shunsui."

"Have you ever been in a kitchen before?" Natami asked, smiling when Lucy blushed and shook her head.

"My parents said I wasn't allowed," the blonde whispered. She wasn't going to mention that she hadn't been allowed because Kobito had cut his hand while playing in there, and had made Lucy heal it with no one knowing. Her parents thought she'd been the one in the kitchen and banned her from it. "And I'm sorry for not eating. I really like your cooking, Natami-san."

"Oh, don't worry about that," the cook chuckled. "I'm sure it's not really anything special."

"It is," Lucy whispered. Without thinking, she reached out and gently touched the woman's hand. She fought back a wince when she felt several small cuts dig into her thighs, pulled from the cook. Luckily, Natami didn't seem to notice. "Your cooking was the first thing I'd had in three hundred years, and it's the best I've ever tasted. Really, thank you for cooking for me…" Her eyes lowered then. "Even though I was being selfish and trying to starve myself… and wasting what you made."

"Th-Three hundred… years?" Natami whispered, wide-eyed as she turned to Ishiko. Everyone in the house knew that Lucy had been incarcerated until Shunsui had her released, but to not eat for that long? She could see the evidence of Lucy not eating, though. It wasn't too noticeable, but Natami had an eye for souls suffering from malnutrition. It's part of why she learned how to cook in the first place.

"It's best we don't talk about that," Ishiko said quickly, smiling down at the blonde when Lucy's gaze lifted to her. "You're a ward of the clan now, so no more thoughts about where you were before Shunsui-sama came to the rescue, right?"

"Right," Lucy giggled.

"Well," Natami said, shaking her head, "I don't have too much time before I need to start cleaning for dinner preparations. But, I think I can show you two how to make some nikuman."

"R-Really?" Lucy whispered.

"Of course. Now follow me. You'll need an apron, because flour can get messy." Natami didn't miss the bright, giddy smile that Lucy sent to Ishiko while turning back toward the counter to clear space for all three of them to work. Just as she didn't notice that the pain from her self-inflicted injuries just that morning had gone.

* * *

"Lucy-sama, I'm sorry," Iwao said, standing in the doorway leading out to the gardens. "Shunsui-sama sent a hell butterfly. He has to stay late. He won't be home for dinner."

She nodded, staring down at her hands where she knelt on the grass. "I understand, Iwao. Thank you."

His saddened gaze drifted to his sister, then he slid the doors closed and left the two women to themselves. Ishiko let out a quiet sigh, staring up at the pink clouds above them, then to the horizon where the sun slowly descended. "Well, maybe next time," she said. "His lieutenant does like keeping him at work."

"I didn't know that…"

"Shunsui-sama doesn't really like being there," Ishiko smiled. "He prefers relaxing and playing games. And drinking."

"What kinds of games?" Lucy asked. She pulled a blade of grass apart and set her focus on tearing three long strips from it, then began to braid them.

"Anything where he doesn't have to move," Ishiko laughed. "If he can sit and relax while doing it, then that's the game for Shunsui-sama."

Lucy nodded, working another blade of grass into the braid. Then another. Finally, she sighed and looked up to see the last rays of sunlight kissing the darkened sky. "Let's go have dinner, Ishiko. I don't feel very hungry tonight, but… I'll try to eat."

She should have known not to get her hopes up that he would be back in time for a picnic. She'd had so much fun making the pork filling for the nikuman, then mixing the dough and kneading it and watching it rise. Even learning how to steam them properly, just the way Shunsui liked them. And Natami had laughed at the shock on Lucy's face when she got flour everywhere, including in her hair and all over Ishiko. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so much.

Lucy had wanted to surprise him with a picnic when he returned, with everything ready in the basket so they could go to wherever he'd planned to take her. And now that couldn't happen. All that hard work, just to surprise him and thank him for helping her was for nothing.

"Sure, Lucy," Ishiko said. "And you'd better at least eat a quarter of your food. Now that Natami's taken a liking to you, she won't let you starve yourself again." They stood and made their way inside, with the raven-haired attendant not noticing how Lucy's sad eyes lingered on the horizon, in the direction of Shunsui's division.

* * *

Sharp grey eyes narrowed on the darkened streets of the Seireitei, searching for the soft clack of wood against stone that drew nearer. At the late hour, no one should have been out aside from the normal shinigami patrol units and squad members. Byakuya sent his senses searching for reiatsu, frowning when there was nothing. Still, he could hear footsteps, the soft shuffle of fabric.

Resting a hand on his zanpakutou, he continued on his path away from the Sixth division and toward his home, keeping his senses honed for anything out of the ordinary. Aside from those footsteps. He rounded a corner and paused when he nearly ran into someone.

Lucy's eyes went wide as she stared up at the Sixth Division captain. "C-Captain Kuchiki," she gasped, taking a step back and bowing. "I'm very sorry."

"It is fine," he said. "May I ask why you are out here?"

She stood and shuffled in place, adjusting the basket draped over her arm. "O-Oh, um… Shunsui didn't come home for dinner, so… A-And we were supposed to have a picnic today, but he was busy with work… So, um…"

"You are taking the picnic to him," Byakuya supplied. She nodded quickly, her gaze still lowered. "You are aware that, as a ward of the Kyouraku clan, you should not be out without an escort? And you should not be out this late?"

"Y-Yes, Captain Kuchiki," she nodded, guilt crossing her features. "I just didn't want to bother Ishiko or Iwao. They deserve to take a break, too."

"It is their duty to serve the clan," he said. "That includes acting as an escort. Though, I am sure Captain Kyouraku has already eaten." He hadn't been expecting Lucy's shoulders to slump, or how she would gaze so sadly at the basket she held. He had to admit, it smelled delicious.

"I know," Lucy whispered. "I just… He's been so nice to me. I learned how to make nikuman today, and didn't want it to go to waste."

"Well I cannot, as a clan leader and captain, allow you to wander around at night."

"I understand," she said, slowly turning back the way she'd come. "I just-"

"I will escort you to the Eighth Division, to make sure you arrive safely." A smile threatened to touch his lips as the blonde stumbled and whirled in place to face him once again, finding him stoic as he gazed down at her. He turned and took a step, pausing to look back at the wide-eyed blonde over his shoulder. "Follow me."

Lucy blinked in surprise as Byakuya started walking away from her, tightening her hold and rushing after him until she came to his side. "Thank you, Captain Kuchiki," she said with a wide smile. "And… thank you for letting me see your gardens. They're lovely."

"I find them a peaceful place to reflect," he said. "Though others do not seem to share that sentiment."

"I loved them," she said, staring down at the basket once again. "After being… inside… for so long…" She'd most likely made a fool of herself in front of him, though. Crying the way she had been, ignoring everything around her in favor of a few flowers. But Lucy hadn't been able to help herself. For the first time in centuries, she'd felt like she could breathe. It had been almost painful to see such beauty surrounding her, to feel the life in the air. "I'm sorry I wasn't awake to enjoy it…"

"It was explained to me that you have had a difficult time adjusting," Byakuya said.

"I guess."

He wasn't sure what made him do it, why he paused in his step to look at her. Maybe it was the sudden shift in her voice, from timid and respectful to something closer to loneliness. Regret. She still seemed far too innocent to be a criminal. Still, Byakuya didn't know how to comfort her, or why he wanted to. Maybe it was because she was so young, that she looked old enough to be Rukia's age. Except he didn't feel this way about people. He respected their strength and perseverance, their conviction to the Gotei 13.

"Captain Kuchiki," Lucy whispered, still staring at the basket. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

"You and the other captains know about me… Where I was at and why..."

"We do. Captain-Commander Yamamoto saw it as imperative that we were made aware of the potential threat you pose."

Lucy nodded, letting out a heavy breath. "Ojii-chan asked all of you to watch me… didn't he. To keep an eye on me in case I went out of control or something?"

He had half a mind to scold the blonde beside him for using such an informal name for the Captain-Commander. "Yes."

Her grip on the basket tightened as she looked up into his calculating eyes. "It was an accident," she whispered. "That day, I don't know what happened, but I know that I wish people hadn't been killed. I just want you to know, I'm not a threat. That power killed my friends, the first people outside of my brother and Ojii-chan who were nice to me."

She hadn't stopped thinking about her friends for centuries. Their faces were burned into her memory, smiling and laughing with her while they studied kido and swordsmanship.

Natsu had been a monster when it came to kido, especially when he had the chance to blow something up. What he lacked in finesse, he more than made up for with raw power. Gray was his polar opposite; still powerful but much more focused on hitting the target with his own kido, and running damage control on Natsu. Lucy had realized very quickly that the relationships built by those living in the outer Rukon districts were hard-won, but they were brothers nonetheless.

Then there was Erza, with her beautiful scarlet hair that whipped through the air in time with her terrifying sword slashes. She was a beast in her own right, even without knowing the name of her zanpakutou for most of their training. The same night Lucy had learned Chinogishiki's name, Erza snuck into her room with a wide, giddy grin and the name of her own zanpakutou on her lips.

"We were told you killed your classmates," Byakuya said slowly.

"My friends," she corrected. "They weren't just people in the Academy with me. Those people were friends, and I wish every day that I hadn't been there."

He said nothing when her hand lifted and roughly swiped at the tears dotting her lashes. Instead, Byakuya politely averted his gaze so she could compose herself. As they started walking again, with his own pace slower to accommodate her smaller steps, he sent his gaze skyward to the lazily drifting clouds wisping across the moon.

"I have found that spending time at a memorial is the first step to accepting those we care about are no longer with us," he finally said.

"I don't have anything like that," she replied. "And I don't think I deserve to-"

"That you would remember those whose lives have ended is an honor to them," he said, glancing down at her. "But there is another way to work through your guilt, if you are open to it." She nodded, hopeful honey eyes turning toward him. "Has Captain Kyouraku told you about the class I will be starting soon?"

"No," she frowned. "Was he supposed to?"

"It was a suggestion of mine," Byakuya said.

"I didn't really see him today. Maybe he was going to do it later?"

"That is a possibility," he nodded. Shunsui was more likely to have forgotten, though. "However, since I have you here, I will extend the invitation myself." He paused before opening the door to the Eighth Division. "It will be open to shinigami who desire to learn the art of shodo, as long as it does not interfere with their duties."

"That sounds nice," she said, smiling politely. She'd always loved looking at calligraphy, reading the sweeping poems that looked like landscapes. Genryuusai tended to keep with the more traditional tea ceremony by looking at calligraphy first to bring about a calm atmosphere.

"You are also invited to attend, Lucy."

The blonde blinked, her smile fading with her growing confusion. Surely, he couldn't mean he would let  _her_  go to something like that. He'd just told her that it was for shinigami, and that was something she had never been. A student, sure, but she hadn't graduated or anything else. "I must have misheard," she muttered.

"Only if you did not hear that I wish for you to attend my calligraphy class," he said.

"But… why?" She paused, then her eyes widened. "I mean, I'm honored, Captain Kuchiki! I just… don't understand why you would want  _me_  there."

He turned toward her then, laying a gentle hand on her slender shoulder and not missing how she barely flinched. "My late wife was fascinated by calligraphy," he said, his eyes growing distant for a moment. "I taught her, to help ease the guilt she felt over deeds of the past. Now, I use it as a way to remember her, to honor her memory with something she loved."

His hand drifted back to his side, and she visibly relaxed. "I would… really be welcome?" she whispered.

"Yes."

Lucy smiled up at him then, a bright, happy grin that lifted her lightly blushing cheeks. "Thank you, Captain Kuchiki. I've always wanted to learn calligraphy."

"Then you should enjoy it," he said, turning back toward the door and pulling it open. He ushered Lucy inside and led her down the familiar hall - to him, at least. Her head turned from one side to the other, looking at everything they passed and memorizing the path they took to Shunsui's office. He paused outside of the office, gazing at the blonde with one hand perched on the handle. "I will send for you when the time comes."

"Thank you again, Captain Kuchiki," she said, bowing her thanks.

Shunsui's head shifted where it was perched on his hand at the light knock on the door to his office. "Nanao-chan, please tell me I'm allowed to go. It's so late." The door opened and he frowned when Byakuya stepped inside.

"While it is late," Byakuya said, "I'm sure your lieutenant has kept you here for good reason."

"Probably," Shunsui chuckled, gesturing to the high piles of paperwork on his desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Byakuya-san?"

"I am only here to deliver something to you," he said. He wasn't going to mention that the man's lieutenant wasn't there, or that he had seen her walking with Rangiku before meeting up with Lucy. Most likely, Nanao had decided to force the captain to stay the night to teach him a lesson about shirking his responsibilities. Byakuya didn't disagree with her methods. "Good evening, Captain Kyouraku."

Shunsui frowned once more as Byakuya turned and left, staring at the empty doorway. "Well, that was weird."

"He's nice."

Shunsui jolted at the gentle voice drifting through the door. A slow, lazy smile curled his lips when Lucy stepped forward with her hands clasped behind her back. "Lucy-chan, you came to see me?"

Her head dipped slightly and he followed the length of the braid hanging down over her shoulder to the deep blue yukata with pale grey swirls dancing along the bottom hem. She gently stepped out of her geta before coming into the office, and he couldn't stop himself from quietly chuckling when he saw how much shorter she was without them on as he stood to meet her in the middle of the office.

"I did," Lucy whispered. "You didn't come home for our picnic."

His smile fell then. That was all he'd wanted to do that day, just spend time with Lucy and have a wonderfully relaxing picnic out beneath a tree somewhere away from the manor. The whole point had been to get Lucy out so she could see the world bit by bit. And then Nanao had come storming through and nearly ripped him out of the bed when she saw Lucy lying next to him.

Apparently, he wasn't allowed to have the day off. And he needed to catch back up on his work, so he'd promised to get it all done if he could just stay in bed a little longer.

She nearly took off her glasses in her agitation. Things got terrifying when she did that.

"I'm really sorry," he sighed. "I just had a lot of work to do. And I don't think I'll be able to do it tomorrow either. I have meetings I didn't know about, and…" He frowned when all Lucy did was continue smiling at him. "Am I missing something?"

"Just this." She brought the basket between them, lifting it for him to peer inside while she raised the lid.

"Are those… nikuman?" His eyes closed while he breathed in the heavenly scent of steamed buns. "Oh, Lucy-chan… you spoil me. You had Natami make them?"

"Well…"

"Did you buy them from a vendor?" he asked.

"N-No…"

Shunsui grinned down at her, ignoring the paperwork on his desk while lightly grabbing her hand. "Come with me. We'll have our picnic now."

Lucy wasn't sure what had come over him, but she stumbled after Shunsui as he led her out of the office, barely giving her time to put slip her geta back on before taking her down the hall and back outside. She'd planned on simply dropping the food off and heading back to the manor, maybe joining him in his office so he could keep working of he asked, but Shunsui clearly had other plans. Plans that, she came to realize, involved pulling her into his arms and flash-stepping up to the roof of his division, higher and higher until they were at the very top.

"Y-You move fast when you want to," she giggled, slightly breathless. She had use of a flash-step, but it wasn't nearly as fast as his. She'd never  _moved_  that fast in her entire life. It was… thrilling, to say the least.

"It's a curse, really," he chuckled. Shunsui carefully set the blonde on her feet, holding onto her hips (purely by accident, he swore) when she swayed just a little. Once she was steady, he pulled back and gently took the basket from her. "Now, what did my lovely Lucy-chan bring for me?"

Lucy bit her lips worriedly as he knelt and began to unpack the basket. Nikuman, sushi that Natami had prepared for dinner, two bottles of sake with glasses, fresh strawberries (she hadn't been able to help herself on those), and a large blanket that she'd found while sneaking around and searching a linen closet near the servants quarters.

She really wasn't sure what most people ate on picnics. She and Chinogishiki only  _pretended_  to eat by whatever manifested in her inner world. It wasn't really food, and they could choose whatever they wanted.

But Shunsui didn't seem to mind the odd array in the slightest. He unfolded the blanket and laid it across the rooftop while Lucy slipped her sandals off once more and started organizing everything. And once they were situated, with the brunette beside her lounging and removing his hat, Lucy had to stop her hands from shaking while holding the nikuman container out to him.

"You'll eat with me, right?" he whispered, pulling a bun out and passing it beneath his nose. The smell was divine. Just the right amount of sweetness, he could already tell.

"S-Sure," Lucy nodded. She took a bun for herself, then slowly lifted it to her lips. Her eyes never left him while he took a bite, searching for any clue of what he thought. His eyes slid closed and he chewed slowly, seeming to savor every second the treat glided across his tongue.

"This is better than Natami's," Shunsui hummed. His eyes slid open, turning toward the blonde. "Where did you get these?"

"I-I um…" She couldn't help but lower her head slightly to break away from his gaze. "I made them." When he stayed silent, she didn't dare look at him. "I wanted to… to thank you for last night. What you did then, and everything you've done since getting me out of Muken, it really does mean the world to me, Shunsui."

Still, he stayed silent. He didn't move or take another bite of food.

"Lucy-chan…" She couldn't look at him though, no matter how odd his voice sounded while saying her name. Not even when she heard the shuffle of fabric as he sat up fully. "You didn't have to do that."

"Well," she winced, "You wanted to take me on a picnic. I just wanted to do something to make it special for you, too."

"Just being here with you is special," Shunsui chuckled, gazing at the food she'd brought. "Lucy-chan, you don't have to  _ever_  do something extra just for me."

"Y-You don't like it?"

"No," he laughed, finally looking at the blonde. He gave her a soft smile when he saw the slump to her shoulders. "That's not it at all, Lucy-chan. I just mean that spending time with you is special enough. You don't have to try to do that." When she nodded, Shunsui shuffled closer and gently rested his hand over hers.

Lucy's eyes closed and she let out a shaky breath when the smallest bit of Shunsui's reiatsu slithered into her from just his touch, wriggled through her arm and down to the sliced flesh on her thighs that she'd accidentally pulled from Natami.

"Lucy-chan?" he frowned, watching the small flickers of soft purple and pink reiatsu over their hands. "Why…"

"I didn't mean to do it," she winced. His fingers shifted and laced with hers, their hands more firmly clasped together.

"Who did this to you?" he asked. "Who made you-"

"No," she said quickly. "It's not like that. I… I touched Natami's hands earlier, and… I didn't know she was hurt, or I would've been more careful."

"Where?"

She bit her lips at the low, controlled question, but Lucy felt his fingers tremble with barely contained anger. She shifted her yukata to one side, baring her scarred thigh and the healing cuts she'd had to hide from Ishiko earlier that day. "I'm sorry, Shunsui," she whispered, lowering her gaze while his free hand smoothed over them and sent more reiatsu directly into the wounds. "I should have-"

"As long as you're okay," he sighed. He waited until they were fully healed, creating several barely visible scars, before lifting her chin to meet her saddened gaze. "And as long as no one  _made_  you do it, then it's alright."

"I didn't… ruin our picnic, did I?"

"No," he smirked. His thumb gently brushed across her jaw. "We're just getting started. And Lucy-chan?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for this. It's been a long time since someone's done something like this for me." More accurately, no one had ever done something like this for him. He'd been on picnics before, had taken plenty of women out on them, but no one had ever gone out of their way to do it for him, specifically. That she had gone to the trouble of cooking his favorite food, had even snuck out of the house just to bring it to him… Shunsui came to realize very quickly that there was a pure, tender heart beating within her breast.

"Well, let's not let the food go to waste," she said, ignoring the heat flaring on her cheeks when he smiled again. They got more comfortable and started to eat, then she glanced at the bottles of sake she'd brought along.

"Ready to try your first sip of sake?" Shunsui chuckled. Lucy nodded and he opened the first bottle then poured a small glass for each of them. "Just a sip. If you drink too fast, it'll go right to your head and then you won't be able to enjoy the night with me."

Her cheeks flamed and she tipped the glass to her lips.

* * *

"And then Natsu ended up riding on Gray's back and they ran through the class with Gray's pants on fire! They left me and Erza to explain what happened to our sensei." Lucy laughed right along with Shunsui, clinking her sake glass against his before tipping it back to her lips. The food was long gone, and they were nearly done with the sake, but she was just having too much fun to want to call it a night.

She didn't want to walk back to the manor alone.

Shunsui sighed, leaning back on one hand as their laughter died down. "Sounds like you had some great friends at the Academy," he said.

"Yeah," she whispered. "They were the best kinds of people. They didn't care that others thought I was weird because no one had ever seen me before. And they didn't pay attention to who my family was. I was just… Lucy to them."

"That's how it was with me and Jushiro," Shunsui grinned. "He was so popular at the Academy, everyone wanted to be his friend because of that damn smile of his."

"You have a nice smile too, Shunsui," she giggled.

"Yeah, well people only wanted to be around me because of my family." His head lolled to one side to gaze at the blonde lying on the blanket beside him. The soft moonlight streaming down from the sky made her pale flesh glow so brightly against her yukata.

"Onii-chan's not like that though."

"Nope," he laughed. "We started talking because I needed help studying. And ever since, he's the only one who's stayed by my side through everything. I've always been just Shunsui to him."

"Well, you've been good to him all these years. I can tell. He's so…" She blew out a heavy breath, giggling again when Shunsui laid on the blanket beside her. "What's the word?"

"Drunk."

"No," she laughed. "Onii-chan's not  _drunk_."

"No, but you are," he crooned. "Cute little Lucy-chan… I think you've had too much sake."

"You helped!" She rolled slowly onto her side, unaware of how her yukata parted high on her thighs while she sat up. "Mm, but it's cold up here."

It wasn't even a conscious thought to remove his haori, since he'd left the flowery kimono downstairs in his office, and drape it over the blonde. Shunsui turned and sat up, facing her and looking into her slightly hazy honey eyes. "Look at you now," he laughed, "The newest Captain of the Eighth Division."

"No way," she gasped, throwing her hands over her flushed cheeks. "I'm not ready to be a captain. They'd have to call me Captain Lucy."

Shunsui smirked and brushed his hair back from his eyes as a stronger gust swept across the rooftops. "Why's that?"

She pouted then, reaching up to toy with his ponytail. "I don't have a surname now," she whispered. "Central 46 took mine away."

"You're my ward though."

"Still just Lucy…"

"Captain Lucy-chan Kyouraku," he chuckled, watching as her blush deepened and her eyes went wide. "I like how that sounds. My little Lucy-chan makes the cutest captain, and if we just do this…" His fingers fumbled with her braid, loosening the tie and unwinding the plaited blonde strands until her hair was free to flow in the gentle breeze. Shunsui smiled when his fingers slid along her scalp and Lucy leaned a little closer. "You should leave your hair down… All the time."

"That feels nice." Her eyes closed when his fingers moved higher, drawing slow, soothing circles through her hair. And when she looked at him again, Shunsui was closer. His breath smelled of sake and the strawberries they'd eaten, so warm as it brushed across her cheeks.

"I'm glad."

"Lucy… Kyouraku?" she whispered.

"Sounds perfect. I'll gladly give you my name," he hummed. "As my ward, you can be part of the family too. But don't tell  _Onii-chan_  about it, or he'll kill me."

"Oh, he won't hurt you," she giggled.

He frowned when the blonde shivered slightly. His hands slid down to her shoulders, drawing the edges of his haori closer and unknowingly brushing his fingers across the tops of her covered breasts. "Are you really cold, Lucy-chan?"

"Not if you keep me warm, Shunsui-kun…"

Shunsui and Lucy didn't hear the quickly approaching flash-steps, simply lost in each other's gazes as his arms carefully slipped around her, pulling her between his spread legs. Right to his chest. It wasn't until someone cleared their throat that he pulled away with a lazy smirk and turned toward the sudden presence he felt behind him. "Oh, Ishiko! How's it going?"

"Um, better now," she said, fidgeting slightly and keeping her head bowed. "I went to check on Lucy in her room and she was missing. I was worried she had run off again, but…" Slowly, her head lifted to peer at the flushed, drunken blonde who didn't try to remove herself from their clan leader's embrace. "It looks like she's fine."

"Definitely," Lucy giggled. "We had a picnic. And Shunsui-kun loves my buns!"

He laughed at the wide-eyed stare from her attendant, turning back to the blonde. "Lucy-chan  _does_  have the yummiest little buns."

Ishiko blinked in surprise when he tickled Lucy, pulling a shrill laugh from her as she tried to scramble away. "U-Um…"

"No worries, Ishiko," Shunsui grinned over his shoulder. "I'll bring Lucy-chan home in the morning. I think we need to see the sunrise."

"You'll watch the sunrise with me?" Lucy whispered, grinning at the easy smile he sent her way.

"Of course,  _Captain Kyouraku_ ," he crooned.

"O-Okay, then," Ishiko whispered. She turned and started making her way down the gentle slope of the roof, pausing just before she jumped down to the ground to look back at the pair sitting so close. Curled around each other.

That was something she'd ached to have in her life, and even though Lucy wasn't in a position to be with the clan leader like this… It was happening anyway.

But maybe she just didn't realize how inappropriate it was for a ward to try and pursue the clan leader. Maybe the rules had been different three centuries prior. With a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart sinking into her belly, Ishiko turned away and darted back toward the manor. By the time she reached the room she shared with Iwao, tears were easily streaming down her cheeks. She didn't mind that she collapsed on top of her twin, only that his arms wrapped around her and held her so gently while he drifted back into the conscious world.

"Ishiko?"

"Sh-She's taking him away f-from me."

"Oh, Ishiko," he yawned. His fingers carded through her hair, soothing and gentle. "Tell me what happened. All of it."


	8. Outside Looking In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally decided on a timeline for this story within the Bleach universe. I'm sure you'll figure out when it's taking place by the end of the chapter. Check the end for some random author notes about this story and this chapter.

 

As the sky bled into swathes of gold and pale blue, Shunsui collected the  _hanafuda_ cards they'd been playing with and tucked them back into his top. "You don't play fair," he chuckled while Lucy's hair fluttered in the soft breeze brushing by them.

"Erza was a big fan of  _Koi-Koi_ ," she said. "She loved teaching me how to play when we were supposed to be studying."

"Did you beat her as badly as you just beat me?" Lucy laughed and shook her head, turning to watch the rising sun. He could still see the flush on her cheeks from the sake they'd had earlier. After Ishiko had left, they'd talked for hours. She'd listened to his stories of his own time in the Academy, and what it was like being in a class with Jushiro. "I've never seen someone wrack up that many  _yaku_  in a single hand."

"You're the one who kept trying to go all in," she said softly. "It's all about moderation, Shunsui-kun."

"Says the one who put away half that bottle of sake," he teased. She didn't say anything more, but then he saw just what she was looking at. The small sliver of orange light peeking over the horizon. He wondered for the briefest of moments how long it had been since she'd been able to watch a sunrise like this. Maybe it was something she'd never had the chance to do before.

Then again, after hearing some of the antics she and her friends had gotten into, maybe this made her think back to that happier time in her life. It left him wondering just what Lucy thought about when she became quiet like this. How often did she remember those few happy memories she had?

"It's beautiful," she whispered. Lucy brought her knees to her chest and draped her arms across them. Her gaze never left the rising sun, but she when she smiled Shunsui was left thinking that she was absolutely right.

The way early morning sunlight drifted across her rosy cheeks and highlighted her flowing golden hair where it danced over his haori that she was still wearing, was breathtaking. Her eyes seemed so full of life, so ready to take on the world. It was something he'd seen in any number of shinigami through the years, but this was the first time Lucy had ever looked like this.

Slowly, he moved across the roof and sat behind her with his legs spread around her smaller body. Lucy leaned back into him and brought a hand up to toy with the ends of his ponytail while his cheek rested on the top of her head. He knew she had to be cold still. He felt it in the way she shivered as his arms wrapped around her. But this was nice. Being able to do something so simple, to enjoy this with someone - when he hadn't seen a sunrise and been happy about it in a very long time - was a welcome distraction from the work that was still waiting for him on his desk.

By the time the sun had risen halfway past the horizon, he felt her relaxing further into his embrace. With a raised brow, Shunsui looked down to see her nodding off. "Lucy-chan, are you tired?"

She hummed and wriggled in his arms. "Comfy," she sighed. "Just a few more minutes."

He couldn't stop himself from laughing at that. Never in his life had he heard someone beg for just a few more minutes of staying  _awake_. Quite the opposite was true for himself nearly every morning, in fact. But he knew there was no way he'd be able to get her to walk back to the estate with him. And considering he did still have work to get done before his lieutenant showed up, it was probably for the best if he just took Lucy to the captain's quarters that were adjacent to his office. That way, she could sleep in and he could finish what he needed to. If he worked quickly enough, maybe he could crawl into the bed and get some sleep before Nanao came to torment him with more paperwork.

"You're coming with me," he finally said. Shunsui didn't wait for a response while he lifted her into his arms, gathered the basket and her geta, and jumped down from the roof. It seemed she was tired enough not to argue either, since Lucy simply rested her head on his chest while he walked back inside to his office.

* * *

It was nearly nine in the morning when Nanao returned to the Eighth Division. She'd had an early Women's Association meeting that had descended into anarchy when Yachiru said they should plan another beach party like the last one they'd held the year prior. Nanao had, of course, tried to bring it all to order again, and she'd failed.

A small smile touched her lips as she recalled Yachiru's wide, giddy smile when Captain Unohana had made the final decision that they would, in fact, plan another beach trip for the beginning of the summer. It gave them a few short months to get things situated, both in their own divisions and in the world of the living. By her understanding, the humans who had been in attendance the last time wouldn't be there. Ichigo Kurosaki was still powerless. It stood to reason that his friends wouldn't make an appearance if he wouldn't be there as well.

By the time she reached Captain Kyouraku's office, Nanao remembered just what she'd done the night before. He'd been slacking off at work ever since Captain Ukitake had gotten back on his feet. She'd talked with Rukia after the last lieutenant meeting about his amazing turnaround, and it was a pleasure to see how relieved she was over his illness seemingly having gone into remission. But while Captain Ukitake had made a full recovery and jumped right into his work to make up for lost time, her own captain had started becoming lazier than usual.

He took extended time off for some reason she didn't know about; all she'd been told was that it had been approved by the Captain-Commander, and that Captain Kyouraku shouldn't be bothered until he returned.

It seemed he slept in later than usual as of late, and the times she'd dragged him out of his bed by force, that young blonde woman had been sleeping beside him. Thankfully, they were always both fully clothed. It really was inappropriate - and probably damaging for her eyes and psyche - to have seen so much of her captain's naked body. Especially since he was her uncle, but most people either didn't know about that or simply didn't mention it.

And even when he was at work, sitting in his office and filling out requisition orders from the division, handling the accounting as part of their division's assigned task within the Gotei 13, or overseeing training for new members, Captain Kyouraku was distracted. More distracted than usual. He never said just what was on his mind, but she was sure it had something to do with that blonde woman who'd appeared out of nowhere. And the one time Nanao had tried to ask him just who that girl was, and why she was suddenly around him all the time - no other women he'd brought to his bed in the past had lasted more than a night before - he'd just smiled at her and waved her concerns away.

But Nanao could only cover his ass so many times where work was concerned. Didn't he realize that whatever was going on with this woman was affecting his effectiveness as a captain of the Gotei 13? Didn't he care that they needed to maintain order, that the shinigami under him looked to  _him_  for direction?

He'd mentioned that he wanted to take this Lucy woman on a picnic the day before, but Nanao had other plans. There was work he needed to catch up on - those quarterly financial reports for the divisions wouldn't double-check themselves - and it couldn't be put off any longer. Things needing his signature and no one else's needed to be completed. It was different for Squad 13, since Captain Ukitake's health issues were well-known, and the Captain-Commander accepted Rukia's signature in place of the captain's while he was incapacitated.

But Captain Kyouraku wasn't incapacitated. He wasn't sick. He was just being lazy, worse than ever before. The only good thing Nanao had seen coming from this new distraction was that he didn't drink nearly as much during the day, and his perverse comments had died down quite a bit.

She could only wonder while opening the door to his office whether he'd actually done what she'd told him to do - whether he'd stayed and finished his work for a change. Nanao hadn't cared if it took him all night. It was much more important than some frivolous picnic, that was for sure.

Of course, he wasn't in his office, and she was left rolling her eyes. Still, she walked in and went over to the desk to see that there was only one stack of papers left - no more than five end-of-week reports from the division. That meant he'd already gotten through the quarterly reports. She looked to the other side of the desk, and her brows lifted well above her glasses when she saw the organized stacks of completed documents. And when Nanao picked up one stack and rifled through it, she found that his signature was in all the right places, and that he'd even written notes on some things.

She really did dislike that habit of his. Sometimes they were just little quips that she was sure were supposed to be funny or cute. She mostly ignored those. Other times, though, the notes were actually important, and she had to write them down elsewhere to make sure they were dealt with accordingly. It meant that she was forced to sit down and read through every page, every comment, just to make sure nothing was missed.

Then again, Nanao also knew that he'd done this with his last lieutenant to make sure she was actually working. Things were so different now. His relationship with Lisa Yadomaru had been the polar opposite of what Nanao had with him. Lisa had been an unabashed flirt, and Captain Kyouraku had turned her down constantly. Nanao, on the other hand, was always by the book, and he teased her relentlessly in a way that most people thought was him flirting with her. That just made it creepy when someone brought it up, because she knew for a fact that her uncle had no romantic interest in her whatsoever. He spoke with her the same way he had the few times she'd seen him during her childhood.

But he'd told her when she became his lieutenant that Lisa liked to slack off, so he'd started writing weird little notes on paperwork to see if she caught it. He'd continued doing it with Nanao because, as he'd told her,  _"You're so cute when you get angry at my jokes, my little Nanao-chan."_

She was sure that it was just an ingrained habit for him to write things in margins by that point, and there was no stopping him.

With a soft sigh, she set about getting the finished paperwork transferred over to her own desk. He'd most likely gone home the night before when he just couldn't stand working any longer. But that meant that she would need to leave soon to get him to actually wake up and come back to work that morning. Hopefully, he hadn't gone home to drink sake all night.

It was while she was carrying the last stack of paperwork over to her desk that Nanao stumbled on something, nearly dropping all the papers while she tried to regain her balance. Her eye twitched while setting the papers down, and she turned a heavy glare toward the perpetrator of her nearly disastrous mishap.

The last thing she'd expected to see was a wooden sandal sitting so innocuously on the floor. It definitely didn't belong there. No one would have worn shoes like this inside the office in the first place, and she couldn't imagine Captain Kyouraku bringing any woman he may have picked up in some bar down to the Division. And yet, there this one sandal was. On the floor. With no other sandal anywhere near it.

At least it wasn't a koma-geta, the little three-legged sandal that marked a high-ranking prostitute.

"I don't know what I'd do if I found out he's paying  _oirans_  for a good time," she muttered while picking up the offending shoe with her thumb and forefinger. This sandal had only two wooden legs extending from the flat base at a moderate height. It was completely normal. But it was also far too small for Captain Kyouraku to have been the one wearing it. And Nanao knew for a fact that he didn't like wearing them to begin with. Something about not having the equilibrium for it while he was drunk, and how he didn't want to break his ankle.

She couldn't see any woman in their right mind having somehow left their shoe behind though. And then her gaze slid over to the door on the far side of the room that led to the Captain's quarters. Every once in a while, Captain Kyouraku would sleep off the worst of his hangover in his room at the division - usually when he was just too drunk to bother going home. Maybe he'd decided to sleep there instead. That would make her life easier. Nanao made her way across the office and pushed the door open, instantly honing in on her unconscious captain sprawled across the bed on his back, on top of the blanket. His shihakusho and haori had shifted to the side while he slept, leaving him a disheveled mess with one hairy nipple hanging out of his clothes. He'd let his hair down, the soft brown strands waved haphazardly across the pillow.

Before she could take a single step, she saw something else that had her brows lifting in surprise. That blonde woman, Lucy, was fast asleep beneath the blanket that was pulled up to her shoulders. At least they weren't sleeping beneath the covers together again. The barest twitch of movement drew her attention to Lucy's pale, slender fingers where they barely gripped Captain Kyouraku's sleeve.

Just what in the three world's he was thinking, allowing this woman to sleep here with him, Nanao hadn't a single clue. It was bad enough that she was constantly sleeping in the same bed with him back at his estate. And Nanao was sure that his clan elders really weren't too thrilled about his general lack of enthusiasm when it came to finding a wife and producing an heir. There really was no guarantee that he hadn't  _already_ gotten some woman pregnant with how much he slept around. Except here this woman was, in his sleeping quarters at the division of all places. Didn't he realize just how inappropriate this was?

And with how young she looked, Nanao seriously wondered just why she was even spending time with him to begin with. Was this just some ploy to get closer to him because of his family and his title as a captain? Captain Kyouraku wasn't exactly the most picky of men. All he cared about was a pretty face from what she'd seen over the centuries. There was no denying that Lucy was pretty, but she was far too young for him to be chasing.

Nanao knew he would only get hurt in the process, if he kept her around. If Lucy stayed in the picture, that would only mean that her uncle had finally allowed a woman to get closer to his heart. Nanao was sure that she wasn't the kind of woman he really needed though. No, her uncle, her captain, needed a woman who could get him to  _control_  himself from time to time. Someone who loved him for the sweet (albeit perverted), gentle, funny man that he was, not his name or his titles.

She walked toward the bed, ready to drag Captain Kyouraku from it, and then Lucy shifted again. Nanao watched in silence as a small, pained pinch appeared between Lucy's thin brows. She grasped his sleeve tighter than before, and her legs moved restlessly beneath the blanket.

Nanao wasn't entirely sure what to do as Lucy rolled over in her sleep and a soft, muted whimper slipped past her lips. She was at even more of a loss on her next course of action when Captain Kyouraku mumbled and rolled toward Lucy. He curled around her, held her close to him with one arm at her waist and his nose nestled in her golden hair.

"Mm, s'okay," he mumbled, tightening his hold on Lucy when she wriggled slightly. Nanao's jaw dropped when she saw a sleepy smile barely lift his lips, and that he wasn't wearing his haori but it was instead wrapped around the woman in his arms. Was he even still sleeping? Why was she wearing his haori? What had even happened the night before? "No bad dreams… m'here…"

And she relaxed. Lucy stopped moving, stopped fighting against whatever her dream had been forcing upon her.

Nanao had never seen him so relaxed before. Even with Lucy's hair in his mouth as he started quietly snoring, he didn't seem to have a care in the world. She'd seen him passed out from drinking too heavily on many occasions, but he never slept this deeply. He never spoke in his sleep either. And being unconscious from drinking too much looked nothing like this; those times, he was dead to the world and unable to hear the entirety of the division running drills in the courtyard right outside his office. This was different. He was responsive to Lucy's subtle movements. His hand slid across the bed until it found Lucy's, and their fingers laced together while he held her tighter once more, almost as though she was his own personal teddy bear.

With nothing else to do, Nanao chanced a glance around the room, hoping to find some clue as to what she'd clearly missed in the wee hours of the morning. What she found, however, had her smiling just a little. A large picnic basket sat on the floor just a few feet from the bed, and next to it was Lucy's other sandal. Maybe he'd been carrying her and it had fallen off. That had to be the case. With the basket being there, though, it could only mean that Lucy had brought a picnic to him.

He had sounded rather excited about taking her on that picnic. Maybe she'd felt the same way about it. And it was a rather nice gesture on Lucy's part if that was really the case. If she hadn't cared about whether they got to spend time together, then Nanao was sure she would have simply left Captain Kyouraku be while he was working late.

But if she'd brought the picnic to him, then that had to mean she cared at least a little about him. Nanao was sure that no other woman he'd gone after before had done something like this for him. They always expected him to wine and dine them, to impress them with his wealth. And yet, here Lucy was… taking care of him.

Nanao looked back to the bed, focusing on the way her captain's legs had curled up so he was completely flush against Lucy, even with the blanket between them. Maybe he'd worked hard enough the night before.

She supposed he could have the smallest break that day. At the very least, that morning. So instead of waking him up and dragging him back to his desk, Nanao simply set down the sandal in her hand next to its twin on the floor and quietly crept out of his quarters. Later on, she could talk to him about bringing women to the division so late at night. But right then, she decided to cut him a little slack.

He did get most of his work finished, after all.

* * *

Lucy smiled when Ishiko walked into Shunsui's quarters at his division, and stood from where she'd been sitting on the bed. "Good afternoon, Ishiko," she said, picking up her geta on the way to the door.

"Good afternoon, Lucy-sama," Ishiko replied, sending her a soft, demure smile. "I hope you had fun on your picnic."

"I did," she laughed. Lucy paused to look back at the room, then frowned when she saw that the picnic basket was missing.

"Shunsui-sama sent the basket back earlier," Ishiko said, placing a guiding hand on Lucy's back. "Along with a note that I should come and escort you back home."

Lucy nodded and followed her attendant's lead through the empty office and out of the division building. They paused to put their geta back on - she'd never realized that Ishiko wore the same shoes as her before then - and started on their way back to the Kyouraku estate. "It would've been nice to tell him good morning," she sighed.

"Well, I'm sure he was very busy today," Ishiko replied. She glanced at Lucy's downcast profile out of the corner of her eye. "But it seemed he was enjoying himself last night while you two were on the roof." The last thing she'd expected was for Lucy's cheeks to flush a bright red and her head to duck down lower. Had something more happened after she'd left? Or maybe Lucy had had too much to drink, and she didn't remember the night before all that well.

The conversation Ishiko had with her brother that morning came back to her in glaring clarity.

" _When you're an attendant, you have to communicate,"_  he'd said.  _"This goes both ways, Ishiko. Eventually, you'll be able to anticipate her needs, but for now the two of you need to talk. And if this is something that really bothers you, then just be honest with her."_

Iwao was right, she knew. He'd been their clan leader's attendant for so long already. He and Shunsui had been through a great many ordeals in the past and it brought them closer together. And now, it was almost as though her twin could read Shunsui's mind at times, because of the bond they shared.

"Lucy," Ishiko said as they finally reached the estate, pausing in her step. Lucy paused as well and looked up at her. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure," she said, smiling kindly.

Ishiko wasn't comfortable with this in the slightest, but she still forced herself to smile just a little while leading Lucy inside and toward her room. "I know you and Shunsui-sama were drinking last night," she began.

"Yeah," Lucy laughed, and by the way she winced, Ishiko could swear she was feeling just as awkward over the turn to their conversation. "It was just one bottle of sake, though."

Ishiko nodded and led her to the bathroom, slowly helping her undress so she could get a proper bath. Once Lucy was bare and sitting on a wooden stool, Ishiko went about preparing the warm water and soaps. "I want you to know that I only have your best interests in mind," she said. "But maybe we should talk about it?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Lucy asked, wincing as Ishiko carefully wet her hair and started to lather shampoo in it. "I mean, aside from sneaking out the way I did."

"You did give me quite the scare," Ishiko chuckled.

"I just didn't want to bother you, Ishiko. I figured I could let you get some sleep."

"That's very kind of you," she replied, rinsing the shampoo out of her golden tresses. She picked up a washcloth and scrubbed at Lucy's shoulders and back. "But as your attendant, I'm supposed to know where you are. And you shouldn't go running off in the night like that without an escort at all."

"I'm sorry."

Lucy sounded so contrite then, Ishiko really did smile while patting her shoulder. "I won't mind missing out on sleep every once in a while," she whispered. "You can take me with you on these little excursions of yours."

"Won't you get in trouble?"

"If this was the Kuchiki clan, most likely," Ishiko laughed. "But in our clan, what's most important is keeping the ones we're attending safe. I can't do that if I'm not with you."

Lucy nodded, but stayed completely still otherwise while Ishiko continued washing her.

"Aside from that, what I saw last night wasn't the most appropriate behavior." This would be the telling moment for her. She needed to know whether Lucy remembered what she'd been doing with the clan leader. Part of her wondered if there was anything else they'd done that pushed the boundaries of what was and wasn't appropriate after she'd left to cry in her brother's arms.

"Would it be wrong of me to blame the sake?" Lucy asked, wincing as Ishiko came to kneel in front of her and started gently washing her chest and stomach. "I mean, we were having fun and joking around, but that's all it was to me… And I'm sure he feels the same way about it."

Still, Ishiko smiled. That was just a bit of a relief, truth be told. Just joking around with one another. Lucy wasn't trying to steal him away from her, as she'd feared. Maybe this woman was unaware of what it had looked like though. Maybe she was just too innocent to see it from an outsider's perspective.

"While that may be the case," Ishiko said carefully while looking into her eyes, "The two of you were in a very provocative position. Someone else might not have seen it as two people joking around, but something else entirely."

"S-Something… else?"

Ah, Lucy was definitely innocent. Against her better judgment, Ishiko actually found that just a little charming. So, she swallowed the bitterness rising in her throat and nodded while holding onto Lucy's hands. "It could have come across that you and he are lovers, Lucy," she said.

"B-But we're not!" And suddenly, Lucy's cheeks were a brilliant red and her eyes were wide and horrified. "I'm his ward! I mean… I know it's not… I w-would  _never_  try to…"

Lucy ripped her hands from Ishiko's grasp and covered her beet red face, causing the attendant to finally let out a wide smile while she laughed. Of course, it only embarrassed Lucy further. But at least Ishiko knew, one hundred percent, there was no competition. Neither of them were in positions to try and claim the Kyouraku clan leader - with Ishiko as a member of a lower subfamily, and Lucy as his ward - but it seemed Lucy wasn't even interested in him that way to begin with. She really was just enjoying herself with him, as friends. Only as friends.

"Lucy, it's alright," Ishiko laughed. Slowly, she pulled the blonde's hands from her face, giving her a patient smile. "I know you wouldn't." Well, she knew that  _now_. That was what mattered. "And it's good to know that you're aware of how this works with you being his ward."

"Of course I do," Lucy replied. "Ishiko, did it really look that way?"

"A little bit," she said with a teasing gleam in her eyes. Ishiko finished washing and rinsing Lucy, and led her toward the bath that was already full of warm water. "But, just remember that I'm here to help you. That's why I wanted to bring it up now, so you can be aware of how others might see the way you were acting."

"I never really thought of it like that." Lucy settled into the bath and let out a soft sigh of contentment, and Ishiko took a seat on a small bench at her side so they could continue their conversation. "That was the first time I'd ever had sake."

"Really?"

Lucy nodded, closing her eyes and leaning her head back while she soaked. "From the stories I've heard, I expected this morning to be a horrible experience. Or that I wouldn't remember what I did last night. I do remember Shunsui carrying me down to his office though. I got pretty tired."

"That'll happen," Ishiko said with a good-natured smile. "At least you didn't throw up."

"I would've been too ashamed to ever let Shunsui see my face again if I had."

And once again, Ishiko found herself laughing, and Lucy joined in after a moment. "If it makes you feel any better, I've seen Iwao come back to his room with the front of his clothes covered in vomit. Even our clan leader isn't immune to that when he's had too much."

"That really does make me feel better," Lucy laughed.

"Even still, he drinks high quality sake. And he's been doing it for hundreds of years now, so he's really built up a tolerance to it." Ishiko watched as Lucy's cheeks flushed once again and she sunk down into the water just a bit more. "With the two of you splitting a bottle, he probably wasn't completely hammered. If anything, it was most likely just a little buzz, unless he'd already been drinking while he was working."

"I don't think he'd been drinking already," Lucy muttered.

"Well, if it had been anyone else, I would have been more worried about your wellbeing," Ishiko said softly, gaining Lucy's attention. "He may be an insufferable flirt, but he's still a gentleman."

"I know that," Lucy sighed. "I trust him. With Shunsui having taken care of me so much since he got me out of prison, I know he's not like other men." When she paused, Ishiko was stricken by the soft, loving smile that turned up the corners of her plump lips. "Besides, he's my big brother's best friend. I know that Onii-chan wouldn't spend time with him if he wasn't a good man."

That was one thing they could both agree on. Shunsui was a good man. Now all Ishiko needed to do was make sure Lucy knew how her actions could appear to others. It would take a little time, and she was sure that it could end up being a matter of trial and error at times, but that was alright.

Iwao had been right, after all. Lucy meant Ishiko no ill will. She wasn't trying to steal Shunsui away, and she wasn't plotting anything. Lucy was simply enjoying her time with one of the few people she had regular contact with. There was nothing to worry about at all, just as soon as she gave the blonde a few key pointers.

With a devious grin, Ishiko stood and grabbed a towel to help Lucy dry off while the water drained from her bath. "Lucy, I have a great idea."

"Oh?"

"How about I teach you to drink sake the right way?"

Lucy frowned and turned toward her attendant, holding the towel over her chest. "There's a right way to drink sake?" she asked.

Ishiko nodded. "Manners and how to hold the saucer aside, there's a way to drink without getting  _too_  drunk. And I think that would be a good thing for you to learn, if you plan on drinking with Shunsui-sama on a regular basis."

"O-Oh, well… I don't think it'll happen that often."

"Well, he does tend to throw parties once every two months or so," Ishiko said. "He'll probably want you to join him at least once. So, I feel that it falls to me to teach you the right way to do this."

Lucy bit her lip as they walked to her bedroom. "Are you sure, though?"

"Definitely," Ishiko laughed. "There will be no dishonoring the name of the Kyouraku clan while you're with me."

Finally, Lucy smiled, catching the teasing tone in her voice. "If you say so, Ishiko," she giggled.

"I do. Now…" She opened the closet and pulled out two yukata, one in a pale blue and one in a sunset orange. "What color would you like to wear today?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who didn't catch the reference for the timeline, this story takes place after Aizen's defeat (obviously) but before the Fullbringer Arc. I recently rewatched the anime, and figured that would be an interesting time/place to set this. Considering I already wrote in a previous chapter that Aizen's, Gin's, and Tousen's squads didn't have captains, that really is the only time in Bleach that this would fit. I just hadn't realized it until I watched the show again heh.
> 
> For anyone interested in Koi-Koi, or wondering just what it is, it's a Japanese card game played with Hanafuda cards (48 cards, with four cards for every month of the year). The object of the game is to create card combinations (yaku) to get more points. When a player gets a yaku, they can choose to stop that hand and collect their points or keep going; if they choose to keep playing, they say "koi-koi," which means "come on."
> 
> As a fun fact for my Naruto fans: one of the yaku in Koi-Koi is called Inoshikacho. By combining the deer, boar, and butterfly cards, you get this yaku that's worth five points. I never knew there was more to the team name in that show before now… Even Shikamaru having all those deer around the Nara property, and Choji turning into a beautiful butterfly when the situation calls for it. The more you know!
> 
> Also, I checked high and low, and there was no information on what the Eighth Division's specialty was… so I made them accountants for the Gotei 13. Because… Picture Shunsui as the head accountant. Hilarious.


End file.
